Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder and products for using same

ABSTRACT

Specifically identified products are produced using powder formed from particles of a naturally occurring organic oxide mineral with substantially no free silica, preferably nepheline syenite, where the powder is essentially dry with a moisture content of less than 0.8% and has a controlled maximum particle size with 99.9% of the particles of the powder having a particle size of less than 10 microns defined as “fine grain ultra-fine” powder, which fine grain ultra-fine powder is preferably less than 6 microns, and where the fine grain ultra-fine powder comprises 3-25% by weight of the identified product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.15/943,645 filed Apr. 2, 2018 (still pending) (CHC-33159.04), which is acontinuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 15/155,455 filed May 16, 2016(now abandoned) (UNM-33159.03), which is a continuation application ofU.S. Ser. No. 14/481,657 filed Sep. 9, 2014 (now abandoned)(UNM-33159.02), which is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.11/803,093 filed May 11, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,858,699) (UNM-33159),which is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of U.S. Ser. No.11/599,514 filed Nov. 14, 2006 (now abandoned) (UMEE 2 00052) and theapplications are hereby incorporated herein by reference into thisapplication and also claims priority upon U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/830,562 (UMEE 2 00075 P (I)) filed on Jul. 13,2006; and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/906,386 (UMEE2 00075 P (II)) filed on Mar. 12, 2007 and both applications are herebyincorporated herein by reference into this application.

This application relates to the art of a processed powder formed from anatural occurring mineral and more particularly to a novel, ultra finenepheline syenite powder that obtains unique physical characteristicsand several applications of the novel nepheline syenite powderincluding, but are not limited to, coatings, such as clear, ultravioletcured and powder coatings. In addition, the application discloses novelproducts using ultra fine nepheline syenite powder as a substitute fordistinctly different fillers or additives.

BACKGROUND

Standard ground nepheline syenite in particulate form has been acommercial product for many years. Indeed, nepheline syenite powder inparticulated form has been used extensively to make industrial compoundsand to instill enhanced properties in liquid coatings, ceramics, glass,etc. For illustrations of representative products or compounds employingstandard processed particulate nepheline syenite, the following UnitedStates patents are incorporated by reference. Consequently, the generalproperties and procedures for using existing nepheline syenite particlesneed not be repeated.

Koenig 2,261,884 use as flux in ceramic Lyle 2,262,951 color ingredientin glass Thiess 2,478,645 porcelain glaze Hummel 2,871,132 glazingcompound Huffcut 3,389,002 heat and corrosion resistant coating Weyand3,486,706 binder for grinding agent Waters 3,917,489 ceramic flux Harris3,998,624 source of metalaluminum silicate Brown 4,028,289 inorganicfiller Chastant 4,130,423 natural silicate for slag formation Funk4,183,760 alumina ceramic Aishima 4,242,251 alumina silicate fillerSeeney 4,396,431 inorganic binder Drolet 4,468,473 SiO₂ source Shoemaker4,639,576 electrode coating Goguen 4,640,797 polymer filler Vajs4,743,625 vitrifying material Holcombe 5,066,330 refractory filler Kohut5,153,155 nonplastic filler Slagter 6,569,923 polymer cement White6,790,904 liquid coating

Disclosures contained in the patents listed above are incorporated byreference as background technology. Particulate nepheline syenite isused in diverse products and for many applications. However, thedisclosed nepheline syenite powder does not have the total propertyarray of the novel nepheline syenite powder constituting a first aspectof the invention. Furthermore, these background patents do not have orsuggest the applications made available only by creation and use of thenovel nepheline syenite powder. These novel products, with uniqueproperties made possible by the newly developed, novel nepheline syenitepowder, constitute a second or additional aspect of the inventivetechnology of this application.

Other uses of standard, ground nepheline syenite have been recentlysuggested. Representative examples of such newer applications of groundnepheline syenite are disclosed in the following United States patentpublications:

Schneider 2002/0137872 scratch resistant coating Zarnoch 2002/0173597filler in resin powder Fenske 2003/0056690 filler for polymer cementBurnell 2003/0085383 suspending filler Burnell 2003/0085384 heat curableresin White 2003/0224174 filler in liquid coating Scheider 2003/0229157scratch resistant powder coating Giles 2004/0068048 filler for rubberFinch 2005/0059765 filler for plastic coating Adamo 2005/0214534extender for curable composition Duenckel 2006/0081371 sintering aidSchneider 2006/0160930 corrosion resistant coating Dorgan 2006/0235113filler for polymer

These prior descriptions illustrate uses, or proposed uses, of groundnepheline syenite. Such additives have been used for many industrialcomponents and as a filler, an extender or another component of consumermaterials, such as coatings. However, the totality of this prior andextensive background technology has not led the mining industry todevelop the novel nepheline syenite powder of the present invention orthe uses of such novel nepheline syenite powder in both known and newlydiscovered applications. These new uses form novel products that areenhanced physically by use of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder havingthe characteristics of the novel form of nepheline syenite.

In addition to the background technology incorporated by reference inthe section above, general background information regarding the use ofground nepheline syenite forms technical background to understand,practice and employ the present invention. In the glass and ceramicmanufacturing industry, ground nepheline syenite provides alkalis thatact as a flux to lower the melting temperature of a glass and/or ceramicmixture thereby promoting fast melting and fuel savings in themanufacturing process. In glass making, ground nepheline syenite alsosupplies aluminum which gives improved thermal endurance, increaseschemical durability and increases resistance to scratching and breakingof the resulting vitrified product. Furthermore, ground nephelinesyenite and larger grain nepheline syenite powder are used as a filleror extender in paints, coatings, plastics and paper. It is a desirablematerial because it contains virtually no free silica and stillfunctions as effectively as a free silica based filler or extender. Thematerial is an inorganic oxide having mechanical characteristics similarto the free silica materials for which it is used as a substitute invarious industries. These mechanical properties of ground nephelinesyenite are realized by the use of a fine grain particulate form ofnepheline syenite, which is sometimes a powder that has a grain sizegreater than about 15-60 microns. These known ground and powderednepheline syenite are quite abrasive for manufacturing equipment.Consequently the granular nepheline syenite has a high tendency toabrade and erode quite rapidly equipment used in processing the variouscompounds, even compounds incorporating the fine grain powder of theprior art. It has been determined that by reducing the fine grain sizeof any inorganic oxide material, such as nepheline syenite, the abrasiveproperties of the material are reduced. It is common to provide groundnepheline syenite with a relatively small grain size for the purpose ofallowing effective dispersion of the product aided by the use ofnepheline syenite powder. The advantage of dispersing fine grainnepheline syenite in the carrier product is discussed in severalpatents, such as Gundlach U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,356; Humphrey U.S. Pat.No. 5,530,057; Hermele U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,507; Broome U.S. Pat. No.6,074,474; and, McCrary Publication No. US 2005/00019574. Theserepresentative patent publications show fine grain nepheline syenite andare incorporated by reference herein as background information regardingthe present invention. These disclosures illustrate the advantages ofproviding this inorganic oxide in a very fine grain size for a varietyof applications. In US Publication 2005/00019574 there is a discussionthat microcrystalline silica is a preferred filler in plastic. Groundnepheline syenite from Unimin Corporation, New Canaan, Conn., is thusprovided as a fine grain silica deficient silicate in the form of asodium potassium alumino silicate. The particles of this nephelinesyenite are finely divided and have a grain size in the range of about 2to about 60 microns. This widely used commercial product having thisgrain size and wide particle size distributions has been sold as anadditive that provides the nepheline syenite properties. Thus, materialsemploying ground nepheline syenite as a filler or extender and also as aglass or ceramic additive, has heretofore used fine grain nephelinesyenite from Unimin Corporation having a controlled grain size less thanabout 60 microns. The produced nepheline syenite powder could not beproduced with a controlled grain size of less than 15 microns. By usingspecial equipment, Unimin Corporation has now been able to produce anultra fine particle size nepheline syenite powder with a maximumparticle size of less than about 10 microns; however, to make thismaterial it is necessary to provide specialized grinding and millingequipment or drastically changed equipment operation. Consequently, inthe past the standard, ground nepheline syenite used in various limitedindustries has been a nepheline syenite with a grain size controlled tobe less than about 60 microns. In recent years, Unimin Corporation hasdeveloped a nepheline syenite powder which has a controlled grain sizeless than about 15 microns. This was believed to be the absoluteindustry limit for ultra fine nepheline syenite powder and forms thebackground. From experience, the industry believed that a limit of 15microns was the ultimate grain size capability because the technology ofproducing nepheline syenite powder with controlled size less than 15microns often involved moisture content which caused the particles toactually agglomerate into larger particles and defeat the primarypurpose and cost of producing the smaller ultra fine particles. Withrespect to nepheline syenite powder, the terms “particle” and “grain”are used interchangeably. This is further background of the industry towhich the present invention is directed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The primary aspect of the present invention is provision of a nephelinesyenite powder having a grain or particle size of less than 6 micronsand a moisture content of less than 0.8% by weight of powder. Thisparticle grain size was heretofore believed to be impossible to obtainbecause of physical laws, such as a drastically increased reactivesurface area, and a substantial tendency to agglomerate. Furthermore,there was a complete lack of equipment to produce such very smallparticles. There was no motivation for providing such particle size inface of the known technical impediments. However, when novel nephelinesyenite powder was ultimately provided to the industry for use, it wasfound that the novel powder resulted in a low Einlehner Abrasive Valueof less than 100 and, indeed, as low as 50 or less. It was discoveredthat the particle size of the novel nepheline syenite powder reducedwear to increase the longevity of manufacturing equipment, but itresulted in other physical advantages that enhance the end product. Whenthese other advantages were discovered and recognized, the technology,motivation and reasons for producing the novel ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder has been drastically altered. Experimental discoveriesidentified and resulted in the realization of the greater technicalneeds for the novel finer grain nepheline syenite powder. Thus, thepresent invention relates to the first aspect of controlling theparticle size of nepheline syenite powder not only to obtain theadvantages of fine grain nepheline syenite powder regarding thelongevity of manufacturing equipment, but also to obtain physicalcharacteristics of the product itself other than the common propertiesassociated with ground and powdered nepheline syenite as has been usedfor many years in many different industries. In summary, the presentinvention involves a discovery of physical properties that can beobtained by further drastically reducing the grain or particle size ofnepheline syenite.

The invention is a nepheline syenite powder with drastically reducedparticle size to reduce abrasion and enhance dispersion and reducesettling. Such novel powder unexpectedly results in several recentlydiscovered properties. These discovered properties were learned only byextensive experimentation and/or testing and after being able to obtaina powder with drastically reduced particle size.

It has been found that an ultra fine nepheline syenite powder useful asa substitute for other known particulate nepheline syenite todramatically reduce wear on mechanical equipment could, withspecifically controlled grain size limitations, introduce heretoforeunknown and unobtainable physical properties in coatings, adhesives,sealants, inks and other products. Thus, the first aspect of the presentinvention provides a nepheline syenite powder with a novel particle orgrain size whereby it greatly reduces wear, is easily dispersed in resinsystems, drastically reduces settling, has a low oil absorption, has anatural wetting characteristic with a low moisture content, high pH, anda high brightness. By using the powder with a particle or grain sizeforming the first aspect of the present invention, coatings can becreated by controlled, specific loading of the ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder to increase block and abrasion resistance, increaseclarity, increase the effect on gloss, increase hardness and stabilityof the coating. Consequently, nepheline syenite powder with a novelparticle size has been found to enhance characteristics of the coatingsin a manner not obtainable by larger grain nepheline syenite powder nowavailable.

The present invention is primarily directed to ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder having a very low particle size with low moisture contentto prevent agglomeration and a low abrasive value for equipment. Thisnovel ultra fine nepheline syenite powder has heretofore not been knownto the industry and was not sought by the industry since the motivationfor providing this particular material is the physical propertiesimparted to a product and discovered after the powder was available. Thetotality of characteristics or properties was not known in the industryto be properties obtainable by nepheline syenite powder. Furthermore, bydeveloping a special ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, the novelpowder can be used to create a large number of novel coatings and otherapplications which also constitute aspects of the invention.Consequently, the first aspect of the invention is the ultra finenepheline syenite powder with a small particle size to reduce wear,increase dispersion, and decrease settlement and to obtain these variousadvantageous enhancements in diverse products. The second aspect of theinvention is the actual products themselves. In many instances theproducts are actually novel for the fact that they employ nephelinesyenite powder having a grain size less than about 10 microns. However,the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder to enhance these characteristicswas the heretofore unavailable nepheline syenite powder having a grainsize of less than about 6 microns.

Nepheline syenite powder having larger particle or grain size has beenused as a filler and/or extender in paint, coatings, plastics, rubberand other materials. The nepheline syenite powder imparts a variety ofphysical properties and technical enhancements to these systems, such asimproved scrub and abrasion resistance in coatings. It has beendiscovered that the novel nepheline syenite powder having controlledparticle size developed as one aspect of the present invention offerssurprisingly improved levels of optical performance while maintainingother critical performance properties of coating. Thus, the novelnepheline syenite powder is particularly beneficial for clear coatings.Another novel aspect of the present invention is its use to obtainproperties attributed only to the novel nepheline syenite powder invarious applications. The new powder has a considerably less abrasiveeffect on equipment than commercially available ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder. It also provides substantial physical benefits in clearcoatings, powdered coatings, ultraviolet cured coatings and otherapplications which benefits have been realized when compared to variousproducts using commercially available nepheline syenite powder and othercommercial fillers. One of the applications that has been found tobenefit substantially by the use of the novel ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder of the present invention is powder coatings, which may beclear or colored.

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, nephelinesyenite powder is provided with controlled particle size where 99.9% ofthe particles are less than 6 microns. The term “less than” whendefining a particle or grain size of the nepheline syenite powder hasthe known meaning that 99.9% of the particles in the powder have a sizeless than the stated size limitation. It, therefore, if not so stated,means that the “maximum” size of the particles is no greater than thestated size limitation. Thus, a powder with particles having a grainsize less than 6 microns indicates that for at least 99.9% of theparticles, there are a multitude of sizes with the upper size limitationbeing 6 microns. The particles do not necessarily have a fixed oruniform particle size. This novel powder has a moisture content of lessthan 0.8%. It has been found that such powder has an EAV of about 50 orless. The novel powder is processed without the addition of water.Furthermore, the oil absorption of this novel powder, under 14 ASTMD-281, is in the general range of 34%. This is a very low oil absorptionproperty for the novel powder. The novel powder has a pH in the generalrange of 9-11 and has a grain size distribution of about 5-6 microns.Particle size distribution indicates that the particles, as previouslystated, have a variety of sizes from a low value to a maximum value. Thenumber of microns between these values is the “distribution” of grainsize or particle size.

The ultra fine particle size material having a particle or grain size ofless than about 6 microns has been proven successful in a coating withthe powder used as a filler or extender, a clear coating, an ultra finecured coating, a wood coating, a powdered coating including clearcoating, automotive clear coating, coil coating, sealants, paperlaminates for pictures and other structures and inks. All of theseproducts have enhanced physical characteristics based upon the use ofthe ultra fine nepheline syenite powder with the novel grain size ofless than 6 microns.

Nepheline syenite powder of the present invention drastically reduceswear on equipment processing the product using the novel inorganicmineral powder. By providing a grain size not heretofore available fornepheline syenite powder the Einlehner Abrasive Value (EAV) issubstantially less than 100 and about 50 or less.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a novel finalproduct is formed by using nepheline syenite powder having a grain sizeless than 15 microns. The products are novel because they do not nowemploy ultra fine nepheline syenite powder for the purpose of enhancingphysical characteristics or properties. The ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder of these final novel products includes the novel nephelinesyenite powder having less than 6 microns as well as larger nephelinesyenite powder having a grain size less than 15 microns. As arecapitulation, these new final products (such as coatings) are novelbecause they now use “ultra fine nepheline syenite powder” (less than 6microns or less than 15 microns). Specific properties in certainproducts are actually more enhanced by employing the novel nephelinesyenite powder having a grain size of less than 6 microns. However, thenovelty of these commercial or final products is use of an “ultra finenepheline syenite powder”, i.e. a nepheline syenite having a grain sizeof less than 15 microns. In summary, some products provided inaccordance with a derivative aspect of the invention are novel by usingultra fine nepheline syenite, i.e. a powder with a grain size less than15 microns. Other new products are novel by using the novel powderhaving a grain size less than 6 microns. In both of these types of novelcommercial or final products, the ultra fine grain nepheline syenitepowder is loaded in the range of 12-20% by weight. These new productsuse the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder not only because it reducesthe wear on manufacturing equipment and/or reduces settlement, but alsobecause the powder imparts specifically discovered physicalcharacteristics or properties, such as a controlled gloss. Thus, theseveral new products are novel due to the use of ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder with a specific loading so that the powder results inenhanced physical characteristics of the coatings. The heretoforeunrealized properties are due to the ultra fine nepheline syenite powderincorporated in high amounts to effect a drastic reduction in cost ofthe product. This is irrespective of the controlled grain size, such asless than 15 microns or the first novel concept of a grain size lessthan 6 microns. To distinguish the novel powder from powder with a grainsize less than 15 microns, the invention is broadly defined as a powderwith a grain size less than 10 microns, but in practice it is a powderwith a grain size less than 6 microns. Both are a small size notheretofore successfully produced and/or commercially available.

Some new products are novel because they have not heretofore used ultrafine nepheline syenite powder at all. They have not used a powder with agrain size less than 15 microns. These products have sometimes usedground nepheline syenite but have not employed ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder. “Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder” is a powder with acontrolled grain size less than 15 microns. The development of the ultrafine nepheline syenite powder with a grain size less than 6 microns hascaused the art to identify a wide variety of applications of suchpowder, which applications have not heretofore been known to the trade.The new powder has been employed in products not now using nephelinesyenite of any grain size and, indeed, in products not even using groundnepheline syenite.

The present development project has resulted in another group of newproducts that are enhanced by using ultra fine nepheline syenite powderwith a loading of 10-20% by weight. These products have used nephelinesyenite of a substantially greater grain size, such as ground nephelinesyenite. Such products are new and novel. They have enhancedcharacteristics because they have a high loading of ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder. This class includes ultraviolet cured coating,nitrocellulose lacquer, acrylic lacquer, solvent based cured varnish,aqueous coatings such as lacquer, acrylic urethane and other urethanecoatings, and 100% solids coatings. These coatings are enhanced by usingultra fine nepheline syenite powder; however, they are further enhancedby using the novel nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of lessthan 6 microns. Additional products in this class of goods improved byusing ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, other than coatings, areadhesives, sealants, inks and paper laminates for simulated wood offurniture and other structures. All of these applications or newproducts have been tested and have shown enhanced physicalcharacteristics as will be explained in this disclosure. They are newand novel because they use ultra fine nepheline syenite powder having agrain size of less than 15 microns, but preferably they use the novelnepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than 6-10 microns.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there isprovided another group of commercial or final products including anultra fine nepheline syenite powder. This group consists of clear liquidwood coating, clear liquid coating for flexible substrates, clear liquidcoating for rigid substrates, nail polish, glass, metallurgical slag,refractory fillers, and pigment paste to make coatings.

A further aspect of the invention is a new product that now includes afiner grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder. The product is selectedfrom the class consisting of opaque liquid coatings, coatings of lessthan 10 microns in thickness, inks, powder coatings, ceramic bodies,glazes, plastic fillers, rubber fillers, color concentrates or pastesand sealants. These products use the novel finer grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder to produce enhanced physical characteristicsand properties as will be explained later.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, thenovel finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder is used to providea product from the class consisting of clear coatings, sealants, paperlaminates, aqueous coatings, solvent based coatings, UV cured coatings,water based coatings with resin free pigment paste, nitrocellulose clearlacquer, acrylic lacquer, clear solvent based acid cured varnish,aqueous lacquer, acrylic urethane coating, aqueous clear PUD urethanecoatings, 100% solids clear UV coatings and powder coatings. Also, thenovel nepheline syenite powder is used in a “concentrate”, such as apaste or predispersant that is incorporated into polymer systems used ascoatings, plastics or rubber articles. The loading or percent of powderadded to the final product is carried by the concentrate into suchproduct.

The primary object of the present invention is the provision of an ultrafine nepheline syenite powder having a controlled particle size where99.9% of the particles are less than 6 microns. This novel ultra finenepheline syenite powder has a moisture content of less than 0.7% andpreferably about 0.6%. Essentially all of the particles will passthrough a 500 mesh screen and have an Einlehner Abrasive Value (EAV) ofless than 100. In accordance with another aspect of the presentinvention the nepheline syenite powder is processed without the additionof water and has a grain size distribution of less than about 5-6microns, i.e. particles between about 0.30 to 6.0 microns.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of the novelultra fine nepheline syenite powder, which is drastically smaller ingrain size than prior ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision ofproducts, such as coatings, utilizing ultra fine nepheline syenite toobtain heretofore unobtainable physical properties for the product.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of the novelnepheline syenite powder having the novel controlled particle size andspecific products using the novel ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.

A further object of the present invention is provision of a nephelinesyenite powder with a grain size less than about 6 microns that is ahighly bright material useable for filler applications in clear coatingsand/or as an anti-block agent in polymer material. This powder can beformed into a concentrate and then dispersed into the coating ormaterial.

In summary, the overall object of the present invention is the provisionof a novel small grain, ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, productsusing this novel powder and products using either the small grain ultrafine nepheline syenite powder or a slightly larger grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder, i.e. a powder having a particle size less than10 microns. Some novel products use any ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder, i.e. a powder with a grain size less than 15 microns, when priorcommercial versions of such products did not use ultra fine grainnepheline syenite powder.

Still a further object of the present invention is (a) the use of anovel small grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder in any product,(b) the use of finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite in productsheretofore using only ground nepheline syenite, and (c) the use of ultrafine nepheline syenite powder in a product that has not heretofore usednepheline syenite powder at all.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an ultra finenepheline syenite powder with a controlled grain size of less than about6 microns, which powder, when used for ultraviolet, clear or semitransparent coatings, results in a superior clarity compared tocompetitive fillers, can be used with up to about 20-25% loading, is UVtransparent, is easily dispersed in low viscosity systems and increasesfilm hardness and scratch resistance.

Yet a further object of the present invention is an ultra fine nephelinepowder, as defined above, which powder, when used in a coating, retainsweathering durability as does larger particle size powder, improveshardness and block resistance for kitchen and appliance applications,offers higher gloss than larger grain nepheline syenite powder whilemaintaining favorable oil absorption and bulk density characteristics.The novel powder has controlled particle top-size to minimize abrasionand equipment wear and has superior cost/performance balance versusexpensive “nano” fillers. The use of the novel powder results in a costreduction which is enhanced because higher loading is possible.

A basic object of the invention is provision of a nepheline syenitepowder with a controlled grain size to result in a Einlehner AbrasiveValue of less than 100 and preferably less than about 50.

A general object of the invention is provision of powder formed fromnaturally occurring organic oxide mineral with substantially no freesilica, preferably nepheline syenite, used in specifically identifiedproducts, which powder is fine grain ultra-fine, i.e. having acontrolled maximum particle size of less than 10 microns, and comprising3-25% of the total weight of the products. Furthermore, the powder isessentially dry with a moisture content of less than 0.8% andsubstantially free of particles having particle size of less than 0.2microns.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a coating containingnepheline syenite powder that is clear, hard, and resistant toscratches, and which is relatively inexpensive. If the coating iscurable by exposure to ultra-violet radiation (i.e. is UV curable),another object of the invention is that the coating containing nephelinesyenite powder be readily curable.

An overview object of the present invention is the provision of “finergrain” ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, which powder is madecommercially obtainable by using a method which does not introduce waterand/or moisture to the powder.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a combined block diagram and schematic diagram ofrepresentative equipment for producing ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder;

FIG. 2 is a chart showing the size and particle size distribution forthe novel ultra fine nepheline syenite powder identified as product Aand another version of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder representedas product B for comparison of the two powders;

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating the grain size and medium grain size ofboth product A and product B;

FIG. 4 is a table listing the mineral properties of the novel ultra finenepheline syenite powder identified as product A;

FIG. 5 is a line graph of the average refractory index of mineralfillers and binder systems wherein the products of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 arecompared with other inorganic fillers and organic binders based uponrefractory index, wherein the products of the present invention areillustrated by the vertical band highlighted on the graph;

FIG. 6 is a chart illustrating the effect of loading for product A in aUV curable urethane coating, as it relates to the ability to cure thecoating upon exposure to ultraviolet light;

FIG. 7 is a vertical graph illustrating the gloss control capabilitiesof products A and B with respect to different loading in an aqueousultraviolet polyurethane coating and a comparison of the coating glosswithout the products being incorporated as a filler;

FIG. 8 is a vertical graph of the gloss obtained when using variousfillers or binders in an aqueous ultraviolet cured PUD urethane coatingas compared with a clear coating;

FIG. 9 is a vertical graph showing the pencil hardness of an aqueousultraviolet polyurethane coating with different loadings of the novelproduct A illustrating that as the loading increases the hardness alsoincreases;

FIG. 10 is another vertical graph, similar to FIG. 9, illustrating theeffect on coating clarity in the same coating for different loadings ofproduct A. This graph shows that the addition of product A in an aqueousultraviolet acrylic coating has minimal effect on the actual clarity ofthe resulting coating;

FIG. 11 is a vertical graph illustrating the percentage of haze (ASTMD1003-61) for the various fillers or binders illustrated in FIG. 8 andfor the same coating as used in generating the graph of FIG. 8. Thisgraph again illustrates that the addition of product A has a minimaleffect on clarity and has a substantially lesser effect on haze thanother competitive fillers or binders in urethane coatings and, indeed,in other coatings;

FIG. 12 is a vertical graph for the same coating as shown in FIG. 11illustrating the scratch resistance (type A scotchbrite) obtainable byuse of various commercial binders and the two ultra fine nephelinesyenite powders (Products A and B). This graph illustrates that thecoarser product has an advantage for aggressive scratch tests; however,the lesser grain size of the ultra fine nepheline syenite is moresuitable for increasing film hardness;

FIG. 13 is a vertical graph of the coating as illustrated in FIGS. 8, 11and 12 revealing that the use of ultra fine nepheline syenite improvesblock resistance in the coating;

FIGS. 14-25 are vertical graphs comparing a property of a product usingproduct A with the corresponding property of products with other finegrain fillers and additives for which product A is a substitute. Thesegraphs represent data comparing properties which are normally used toshow effect of fillers or binders. This array of graphs are used tocompare the total functions of the many powders identified;

FIGS. 26 and 27 are a bar or vertical graph and a pictorial view,respectively, showing a hardness property and an associated scrubproperty of the novel nepheline syenite powder used in a polyurethanecoating; and,

FIG. 28 is a vertical graph showing change in gloss for product A andproduct B at different loadings.

FIG. 29 is a graph illustrating the relationship between percent hazeand the weight percentage concentrations of products A and B used in apolyurethane coating.

FIG. 30 is a graph illustrating the relationship between gloss units andthe weight percentage concentrations of products A and B used in apolyurethane coating.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to ground nepheline syenite materialwhich is converted into specific ultra fine nepheline syenite powderhaving a controlled grain size that has been proven to be instrumentalin providing coatings with enhanced features, such as thinner films andfiner pigment pastes. Furthermore, whenever a supplier needs to producea coating that is thinner, higher gloss and less abrasive the novel“finer grain” ultra fine nepheline syenite powder with a grain size ofless than 6 microns has proven to be extremely beneficial, indeedcritical. In clear, ultraviolet cured and wood coatings requiringtransparency, gloss and less package settlement, it has been found thatultra fine nepheline syenite powder with a controlled grain size of lessthan 6 microns, which is one aspect of the present invention, has beenextremely beneficial. The novel nepheline syenite powder results inheretofore unobtainable physical characteristics in the many coatings.In addition, ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, especially the finergrain nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than 6microns, has been proven to be a cost effective alternative to currentlyavailable, quite expensive nano size fillers or nano size particles.Such small particles are precipitated or reacted by expensiveprocedures. Consequently, the novel ultra fine nepheline syenite powderis a substitute for such costly minerals. It has been found that thephysical properties obtained by ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, ingeneral, is drastically enhanced by reduced grain size to less than 6microns, accompanied by increased loading of the reduced grain sizeultra fine nepheline syenite powder. These advantages of the primaryaspect of the present invention, i.e. the novel finer grain ultra finenepheline powder, are, in addition to and sometimes duplicative of, theadvantages discussed in the introductory portion of the presentdisclosure. The disclosures establish the commercial merit of variousaspects of the present invention. Indeed, there are distinct advantagesof using ultra fine nepheline syenite powder in certain coatings and thenovel finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite in certain coatings andother products. But the most pronounced advantages are realized by thenovel ultra fine nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of lessthan about 6 microns, i.e. the finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder. Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of lessthan about 15 microns is known, but reducing the grain size to less than10 microns and preferably less than 6 microns is not known. Such smallsize powder has not been commercially feasible prior to this invention.There was little known about the tremendous combinations of propertiesand characteristics to be imparted to products by the novel grain sizereduction of the present invention. The concept of reducing the grainsize of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder was not pursued and theadvantages were not realized until the present inventive act of reducingthe grain size all the way to less than 10 microns. The more criticaladvance is the drastic reduction of nepheline syenite powder to a grainsize less than 6 microns.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for the purposeof disclosing preferred embodiments and properties of the preferredembodiments and/or aspects of the present invention and not for thepurpose of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows schematic equipment 10represented by a number of steps and process components. Equipment 10produces ultra fine nepheline syenite powder. Equipment 10 is merelyrepresentative of the manner by which the ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder is produced. The method combines a dry milling section 12, shownschematically, and an air classifier section 14, also shownschematically. The dry milling and air clarifier sections produce ultrafine nepheline syenite powder with a controlled and specific grain size.The grain size is less than about 10 microns in the broad sense, but inthe preferred sense the grain size of the powder is less than 6 microns.This is the novel feature to make a grain size less than 10 microns,i.e. less than 6 microns. This new grain size for nepheline syenitepowder is distinctly novel over ultra fine nepheline syenite in generaland is a size heretofore unobtainable by conventional methods used forcommercial production of powdered nepheline syenite. In the method toproduce the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder of the invention, minednepheline syenite is loaded into supply bin 30. The grain size of thenepheline syenite is standard size available from the natural mineraldeposit. This bulk natural nepheline syenite has a generally as minedconsistency. It is transported by conveyor 32 into a standard mineralgrinder. This grinder provides a standard ground nepheline syenite ofthe type now sold commercially. This ground mineral is like thenepheline syenite now used in a variety of industries, as explained inthe introductory portion of this disclosure. The ground nephelinesyenite has a standard grain size which is up to at least 500-1,000microns. This ground mineral is used as a feed stock for the remainingcomponents of equipment 10 shown in FIG. 1. In other words, normalstandard ground nepheline syenite is the feed stock for use in producingthe ultra fine nepheline syenite powder of the present invention. Feedstock created by grinder 34 is directed through line 36 into dry mill 40which, therefore, operates without any added water. The dry mill reducesthe size of the particles of the ground nepheline syenite into a powderwith a grain size of about 60-100 microns maximum. Thus, the grain sizeis less than about 60-100 microns. This is a known product. This millednepheline syenite powder formed from standard ground nepheline syeniteis directed to outlets 42, having a grading screen 50 which passespowder having a generally fine grain size, such as a grain size thatwill pass through a 200 mesh screen. The fine powder has a maximum sizesubstantially greater than 25 to 50 microns and it is accumulated instorage bin 60, which bin is an agitated and aerated storage bin tomaintain dry powder P having a maximum grain size greater than about25-50 microns. Moisture accumulation in the mineral is prevented.Thereafter, the milled nepheline syenite powder P in storage bin 60 isconveyed along line 62 by a combined screw and air conveyor whichaerates and agitates the powder to maintain the powder fluidized andwith a low moisture content, i.e. less than 0.7% and preferably about0.6% by weight. The powder from storage bin 60 is carried through line62 to input 100 of air classifier section 14. Powder P has adistribution of grain sizes from fines of less than 1.0 microns to agrain size of over 50-60 microns. This high grain size distinguishespowder P from “ultra fine nepheline syenite powder”, which, bydefinition, has a grain size of less than about 15 microns. From input100, powder P drops into separation chamber 102 having a high volumeblower 104 supplied with processed air supplied through intake screen106. Chamber 102 has a graded output screen of louver plate 108, whichscreen or plate is set to allow particles of powder P to pass throughthe air classifier, if the grain size of the particles is less than aselected value. In other words, the air velocity is high enough to carryparticles of powder P through screen or plate 108 if they do not weightoo much. In practice, screen or plate 108 has a maximum size of 10microns to produce a grain size less than ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder. However, the preferred nepheline syenite powder of the presentinvention has a grain size of less than about 6 microns, which is agrain size heretofore unobtainable because of various manufacturinglimitations and perceived obstacles. The screening must be extremelysmall while allowing capture by air from blower 104. This air velocitymust be high to propel small grain powder through the classifiersection. This novel powder is referred to as “finer grain” ultra finenepheline syenite powder. Thus, screen or plate 108 is selected to passgrains having a size of less than 10 microns to produce a grain sizeless than normal ultra fine nepheline syenite powder. In accordance withthe preferred embodiment and the basic novelty, the screen or plate isselected for about 6 microns to produce finer grain nepheline syenitepowder and the blower is drastically increased to convey the smallparticles. Particles of incoming powder P, that are too large to passscreen or plate 108 and too heavy to be carried by the high flow ofprocess air, drops through chute 110 to conveyor belt 112 for depositinto hopper 114. From this hopper, large particles in powder P arerecirculated through milling section 12 by way of return line 116. Thereturned large particles of powder P are then reprocessed through thevarious components in the general milling section 12. Powder particlesthat pass through screen or plate 108 for the most part, drop intocollector 20, as indicated by arrows 120 and 122. Process air flowcreated by blower 104 operated at a high speed is indicated by arrows130. This high velocity air carries “fines”, i.e. small particles lessthan about 0.2-0.5 microns. These small particles have a weight thatwill not allow them to drop into collector 20. Thus, air indicated byarrow 130 transports fines through the air classifier upward toaccumulator 140, where the fines are intercepted and fall into bin 142for ultimate disposal. Finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powderwith a grain size controlled by screen or plate 108 is deposited incollector or bin 20. It is then bagged and sold for use to create thephysical properties and obtain the advantages already explained. Theseand other advantages of finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powderand the preferred, novel powder with a grain size of less than 6 micronswill be addressed hereinafter and, in some instances, have already beendisclosed. The “finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder” has aparticle size of less than about 6 microns. Thus, the invention is aparticle size substantially less than 15 microns, which is broadlystated as being less than 10 microns. But preferably the grain size isless than 6 microns to obtain the advantages described herein.

When screen or plate 108 is selected for a grain size of less than 6microns, product A is produced by equipment 10. This powder is an ultrafine nepheline syenite powder having a maximum grain size of about 6microns and a grain distribution as indicated by curve 200 in FIG. 2.This distribution is generally 4-5 microns. This powder is compared to apowder having a maximum grain of about 15 microns, i.e. product B.Particle distributions of products A and B are shown by curves 200, 202in FIG. 2. The powders are explained in FIG. 3. Product B is a powderhaving a grain size and distribution as illustrated by curve 202 of FIG.2. The maximum grain size of this powder is about 15 microns. Product Aand product B are both ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, but theyeach have a specific controlled grain size. Product A is a powder with agrain size drastically smaller than the grain size of product B. Detailsof equipment 10 can be varied so long as the method disclosed is used toproduce the finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, using a drymilling operation performed by a standard dry mill followed by an airclassifier operation performed by a standard air classifier. The noveltyis the adjustment of the equipment to obtain product A. The equipmentand the method are not novel, but the use of such equipment to producethe novel product A with no need to use water is unique.

In accordance with the primary and first aspect of the invention, theultra fine nepheline syenite powder has drastically reduced maximumgrain size, i.e. less than 6 microns. At least 99.9% of all particlesare less than 6.0 microns in size. This is a controlled grain size neveravailable before. This novel finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder, which is product A, has the capabilities of imparting distinctnovelty and heretofore unobtained, physical properties to diversereceiving media, such as many coatings. When the particle size isreduced to the 6 micron level, product A has the unique physical,mineral properties, as set forth in FIG. 4. These properties involve amaximum grain size of about 6 microns. The term “maximum” in thisdisclosure is a standard term and means that more than 99.9% of thegrain size are less than the stated maximum. Product A has a meanparticle size of 1.9 microns and a brightness of 92, oil absorption of34 and a percentage of moisture of 0.7. Indeed, low moisture content iscritical and is preferably 0.4-0.8%. This low moisture is essential sothat the particles do not agglomerate and, thus, create largemulti-particle masses which would defeat the intended main purpose andbasic advantage of the finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.Product A is basic, with a pH value of 10.7 and has a Mohs hardness of6.0. All these physical characteristics or properties create asynergistic action for the preferred, novel ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder, i.e. the finer grain nepheline syenite powder. In this manner,the novel powder can create several recently discovered beneficialphysical properties in the end products, or receiving media, sometimesalso referred to as a “product” or “products.” Such properties have notheretofore been obtainable or they were not known to be obtainable byany filler or binder. This new vista of enhanced properties obtained byusing finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, is evidence ofthe tremendous advance in the art caused by the discovery of advantagesof a controlled small grain size for this mineral. The novel ultra finenepheline syenite powder has a heretofore unobtainable grain size, i.e.a grain size less than 6 microns. Product A is a substantial advance inthe art. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, aspreviously described, the use of novel product A and the use of productA or now existing product B in certain specific applications are alsoseparately novel and create beneficial results not heretofore known. Ina like manner, the use of novel product A in certain specificapplications or receiving media, or “products”, is also novel. Theseapplications employing product A or both product A and product Bconstitute further aspects of the present invention.

The method shown in FIG. 1 is capable of making product A without theintroduction of water and/or moisture that can cause agglomeration ofthe very fine powder necessary for the enhancement, advantages andproperties associated with the present invention. When the particles arereduced from about 15 microns to less than 10 microns, and preferablyless than 6 microns, moisture becomes a serious problem. It has beencommercially impossible to produce nepheline syenite powder with a grainsize of less than about 10 microns and, indeed, less than 6 micronswithout use of a wet process. FIG. 4 discloses specific properties ofproduct A. The finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powderconstituting product A is novel and is processed without water and has abrightness rating in the range of 90-93, a pH in the general range of9-11, a grain size distribution of less than about 5 microns, andsubstantially free of particles less than about 0.2 microns. Thedistribution of the particle size in product A is in the general rangeof about 4-5 microns and the moisture content of both product A andproduct B is about 0.7%. Indeed, the moisture content of powder A ispreferably less than 0.7%.

A commercial or final product or receiving media using the finer grainultra fine nepheline syenite is loaded by a percentage of weight greaterthan about 6-10% in a receiving mixture. This type of product has a lowrefractory index of less than about 1.60. See FIG. 5. The mixture ormedia receiving product A as a filler or extender is essentiallytransparent to ultraviolet light; therefore, if the mixture or media iscured by ultraviolet light, product A will not affect the curingprocess. The end “product”, i.e. the mixture receiving product A has ahaze percentage of less than about 5-6% and a gloss control with a 60°gloss of less than 90. The product or mixture receiving product A hasbeen found to have a pencil hardness that is improved 3-4 units andhigher block resistance. The product or receiving mixture for product Ais generally loaded in the range of 12-20% by weight; however, someproducts are loaded as low as 3-6% by weight.

Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder produced in accordance with themethod of FIG. 1 has certain properties and is compared to existingparticulate material for which product A is a replacement in FIGS. 5-13.Product A is compared in some drawings with product B to disclose wherethese powders obtain comparable results and where product A is superiorto product B. Product A is a finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder where the grain size is drastically reduced to a magnitudeheretofore believed to be unobtainable in commercial quantities. Suchsmall grains have a large reactive surface area and will agglomerate ifexposed to moisture above 0.8% by weight as an end product or duringproduction.

In FIG. 5 critical properties of various commercial fillers or bindersare compared with product A used as an inorganic filler. The comparisonuses the average refractive index of commercial mineral fillers andbinder systems. As can be seen in the line graph, finer grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder produced in accordance with the method of FIG.1 has less refractive index than the common inorganic fillers. Aluminumoxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate and calcined kaolin adverselyaffect reflectivity to a greater extent than does finer grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder. Only fumed silica in the inorganic fillergroup has a lesser average refractive index. Of course, use of silica isproblematical due to certain environmental regulations. Thus, ultra finenepheline syenite powder has a lesser refractive index than othercommercial inorganic fillers. Indeed, product A has an averagerefractive index normally experienced by organic binders, which bindersare more expensive. They result in less enhancement of those propertiesthat are enhanced by use of product A. Thus, ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder has a relatively low average refractive index which is anadvantage in coatings.

The graph in FIG. 6 illustrates the effect of the level of loading ofproduct A in the “product” or receiving media and how loading relates tothe curability of an ultraviolet curable polyurethane coating. The UVabsorptive characteristics of standard resin is shown by curve 210.Curve 212 represents the absorptive characteristics of a resin with 8%product A. In a like manner, the blocking characteristic for a resinwith 12% product A is illustrated by curve 214. A resin having 16%product A creates a blocking characteristic illustrated as curve 216.This general level of transparency continues up to at least 20% loadingof product A in the ultraviolet curable polyurethane resin. In summary,product A which is the finer grain ultra fine grain nepheline syenitepowder has little, if any, effect on the curability of any ultravioletcurable resin and in some cases improves this property. This is anadvantage not obtained by other larger grain fillers and is quiteimportant. Indeed, product A actually improves UV curing (depth and curetime) since coating filled with nepheline syenite powder absorbs less ofthe UV light in the curing range of less than 300 nm than an unfilledsystem.

The use of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder is very effective forgloss control in aqueous ultraviolet acrylic coating. This feature isillustrated in the graph of FIG. 7. The data reveals that product A hasless effect on gloss, than does product B. Without addition of productsA or B, the gloss control is approximately 100% as indicated by verticalbar 220. By loading the coating with 6%, 12%, 18% and 24% ultra finenepheline syenite powder, excellent gloss control is obtained. With 6%loading, gloss control for the products A and B is shown as verticalbars 222 a, 222 b. With 12% loading, the results shown by bars 224 a,224 b are obtained. 18% loading results in values shown by bars 226 a,226 b. 24% loading obtains the results shown by bars 228 a and 228 b.Thus, the loading and size of the ultra fine nepheline syenite is usedto control gloss of a coating. The relationship of the gloss controlobtained by products A and B, as compared to other common commercialfillers for ultraviolet cured coatings, is illustrated in the verticalgraph in FIG. 8 which corresponds to information illustrated by thevertical graph in FIG. 7. Without any filler, the gloss percentage of aclear curable coating is over 90%, as shown by bar 250. When usingproduct B, the gloss control value is illustrated by bar 260. Bar 262represents the resulting gloss control obtainable by product A. FIGS. 7and 8 show not only similarities between products A and B, but also thedistinct superiority of product A in this area. Indeed, product Aobtains a gloss control generally commensurate with a clear ultravioletcured coating. Such high gloss control is obtained by Duralox DF, asshown by bar 264. This filler is highly expensive; however, it can bereplaced by the relatively inexpensive product A, thereby gaining allthe other advantages of product A without sacrificing clarity. HighlinkOG, as shown by bar 266, has very little gloss control. High glosscontrol can be obtained by a nano product, such as Nanobyk 3600 as shownby bar 268. This commercial nano particle filler is quite expensive andhas loading limits. It can be replaced by product A without losing muchin gloss control while obtaining other advantages explained both earlierand hereafter. Thus, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate that finer grain ultrafine nepheline syenite (product A) has excellent gloss controlcharacteristics and can be used as a substitute for expensive commercialfillers. However, the better gloss control of a coating is obtained bythe lower percentage of loading such as loading of about 10-12% asdisclosed in FIG. 7. Thus, product A has distinctly better gloss controlability than product B.

Another property of the finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder,such as product A, is illustrated by the data represented in the graphof FIG. 9 showing units of increased pencil hardness. The loading ofproduct A is shown to have a direct correlation to the number of pencilhardness unit for a coating such as an aqueous ultraviolet acryliccoating. Vertical bars 300, 302, 304, 306 and 308 show the increasedpencil hardness units caused by increased loading of product A into a UVcoating. Increased loading of product A increases the units of hardnessof the receiving coating. The increased loading of product A has a minoreffect on clarity, as shown in FIG. 10. As the percentage loadingincreases from 6% to 24%, the quality of the coating used to produce thedata displayed in the graph of FIG. 9 is not affected, to any materialextent, as indicated by heights of bars 310, 312, 314 and 316. Thus, theaddition of product A does not significantly affect the clarity, butdoes substantially increase the units of pencil hardness of a coating.The minor effect on clarity with high loading is drastically less thannormal fillers now used in ultraviolet coating, as shown in FIG. 11. Theclarity values of products B and A are shown by bars 320, 322,respectively. Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder produced in accordancewith the method of FIG. 1 has little effect on the clarity of the clearcoating as represented by bar 330. However, a standard filler used inultraviolet cured coating is Duralox DF. This filler has quite a largeeffect on clarity. This adverse effect is illustrated by the greatheight of vertical bar 340. In a like manner, another common fillerwhich is Highlink OG has a substantial effect upon the clarity of thecoating as represented by the height of bar 342. Consequently, bothnovel product A and existing product B have a minimal effect uponclarity, while other commercial fillers have the drastic effect uponclarity of the coating. To obtain the low effect on clarity usingcommercially available fillers, it is necessary to use a nano particlefiller such as Nanobyk 2600 generating the clarity effect illustrated bythe height of bar 344. As is well known, the use of nano particles inultraviolet curable coatings is extremely expensive, which expense canbe avoided by using the low cost mineral constituting product A. Thus,novel product A has a lower effect on clarity and increases the hardnessof a coating. This combination of properties is not obtainable by other,non nepheline syenite commercial fillers for ultraviolet cured coatingsand other coatings. This is a substantial advantage of finer grain ultrafine nepheline syenite powder and particularly at the higher loadinglevels allowed by product A. In summary, product A can be loaded toincrease the hardness of the coating while not affecting the clarity ofthe coating. This advantage is obtained at a low cost with a mineralbased product. Product A drastically reduces wear on equipment mixingthe coating and is a substantial improvement over existing product B.Product A has a substantially lower Einlehner Abrasive Value than thatobtained by product B.

Ultra fine nepheline syenite powder produces the advantages so fardescribed and other physical advantages when used in a coating. Theseadvantages are illustrated by the data presented in the graphs of FIGS.12 and 13. These graphs relate to scratch resistance and blockresistance, respectively, of a coating. The graph of FIG. 12 illustratesscratch resistance as compared to a clear ultraviolet coating. The clearcoating results in the percentage gloss change for 10 cycles, 25 cyclesand 50 cycles as illustrated by bars 400 a, 400 b, 400 c, respectively.In a like manner, the larger grain ground nepheline syenite results in agloss change as shown in bars 410 a, 410 b and 410 c. Product B producesa gloss change for the various scratching cycles as illustrated by theheights of bars 412 a, 412 b and 412 c. Product A produces the glosschanges illustrated by the heights of bars 414 a, 414 b and 414 c.Product A improves aggressive scratch over the unfilled resin andapproaches the performance of more costly nano size fillers or unfilledresin. The “test” filler is a nepheline syenite powder with a grain sizeless than 30 microns and is actually the best Scotchbrite Abrasion testresistance. Thus, the finer grain product A is more suitable forincreased film hardness in the upper or outer portion or layer of thecoating. Product A is superior to other common fillers, such as Duroloxproducing the scratch resistance results shown by bars 420 a, 420 b and420 c or Highlink producing the scratch resistance results shown by bars430 a, 430 b and 430 c. The only product that obtains comparable scratchresistance to the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder is the nanoparticle sold as Nanobyk having the results illustrated by bars 440 a,440 b and 440 c. Consequently, product A has a superior scratchresistance and produces a high hardness for the outer portion of thecoating in which the powder is used.

Block resistance comparisons for product A with the products of FIG. 12are illustrated by the data shown in the graph of FIG. 13. The blockresistance of a clear coating is represented by the static COF, k_(g)fvalues represented by bar 500. Products B and A produce superior blockresistance results as illustrated by bars 502 and 504, respectively.Block resistance for Duralox is represented by bar 510 which is lower orpoorer than the resistance of either product A or product B. The same istrue of the block resistance for Highlink OG, as shown by bar 512. Moreimportantly, the nano particle filler sold as Nanobyk 3600 has arelatively low block resistance shown by bar 520. Consequently, eventhough the extremely expensive nano particle filler has certainadvantageous characteristics that can be obtained by the relativelyinexpensive product A, this nano particle product has a substantialnegative effect on block resistance of the coating. Thus, product A isless expensive than the nano particle filler and has an enhanced blockresistance characteristic which constitutes a drastic improvement overthe nano particle filler.

For finer grain nepheline syenite powder, it has been found that theEinlehner Abrasive Value (EAV) is less than 100 for a maximum grain sizeof 10 microns and a value of about 50 for the preferred embodimentwherein the material has a maximum grain size of 6 microns. At 10microns, the EAV or abrasion number is less than 100. Tests haveindicated that the lower the EAV or abrasion number, the less wear thereis on equipment processing viscous material using nepheline syenitepowder. It is desirable to have a value less than 100 and preferablybelow 50. Product B has an EAV of substantially over 100 and, this factwas one of the motivations to seek a powder with less process wearcharacteristic. This very low abrasion value is obtained by novelproduct A wherein the grain size of the nepheline syenite powder is lessthan 6 microns and generally in the range of 1-6 microns. This is a verysmall range for the distribution profile and also is an ultra fine grainsize. Product A is an improved nepheline syenite powder withcapabilities heretofore not obtained economically in commercialquantities. The powder has the advantageous properties andcharacteristics herein disclosed together with the basic properties forwhich it was created.

In summary, FIGS. 5-13 are disclosed data representative ofcharacteristics obtainable by novel product A. The properties of productA as illustrated in the graphs and disclosed in the written descriptionof the present invention constitute advances in the coating technology.These results relating to the ultra fine nepheline syenite and disclosedproperties of the existing product B have led to many novel applicationsof the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder identified as product A, aswell as novel applications of product A itself.

Product A Summarized

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, finergrain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder is created having a grain sizeof less than 10 microns; however, product A as disclosed herein is aneven finer grain nepheline syenite powder having a grain size less thanabout 6 microns. Consequently, the broad aspect of the invention is anepheline syenite powder having a grain size demonstratively smallerthan the grain size of product B, but in practice greatly less than thegrain size of product B. It has been determined that a nepheline syenitepowder having a grain size less than 10 microns produces an EinlehnerAbrasive Value of less than 100. Thus, the powder drastically reducesthe wear on equipment processing a compound using the new nephelinesyenite powder. Product A has an Einlehner Abrasive Value of less thanabout 50. Product A has a moisture content of less than 0.8% andpreferably about 0.7% so that the fineness of the grain size and, thus,the drastically increased reactive surface area does not causeagglomeration of the grains to defeat the beneficial properties ofproduct A. Consequently, novel product A has a low moisture content lessthan about 0.8% that produces an Einlehner Abrasive Value of about 50.Such nepheline syenite powder has not been heretofore available for usewhere nepheline syenite is a preferred extender, filler or binder.Furthermore, when product A was created with a low moisture content and,a low abrasive value, it was found that this nepheline syenite powdercan be used, not only where nepheline syenite powder or ground nephelinesyenite has been used before, but also in other compounds that usecommercial fine grain fillers or extenders, other than the mineralnepheline syenite. Product A has little if any free silica so thedifficulties of handling and incorporating silica are avoided. Product Ais a source of sodium and aluminum where sodium and aluminum areconstituents necessary in the end product. In the preferred embodimentproduct A has constituents as listed below:

Silicon dioxide about 50-60% by weight Aluminum oxide about 20-25% byweight Sodium oxide about 5-10% by weight Potassium oxide about 5-10% byweight

By having aluminum oxide and sodium oxide the nepheline syenite powderof product A is an excellent source of sodium and aluminum and hassilicon dioxide, but not free silica. Free silica in product A, if itexists at all, is less than 0.1%. Consequently, it is useful incompositions that require silicon dioxide, but not free silica, such ascoatings, adhesives, sealants and inks. The drastically reduced grainsize of product A causes easy dispersion in resin systems, allows use incoatings that have thin application levels, such as less than 10microns, and produces low oil absorption in the ultimate compound. Sincethe fine grains of product A have a drastically increased surface areathe mineral powder has a greatly enhanced natural surface wettingcapability and allows high loading of over 10% by weight and optimallygreater than 12% by weight. This mineral powder is extremely beneficialdue to its small grain size in clear, ultraviolet, 100% solids andpowder coatings. It has a high brightness, high abrasive resistance,high clarity, high gloss, high hardness and high stability. Thesefactors make product A a drastic improvement over other powders, such asproduct B. Reduction in grain size has a logarithmic type relationshipwhen creating certain characteristics. Consequently, there is not alinear enhancement of capabilities based upon the difference in grainsize. Product A is a substitute for costly nano fillers and does notscreen out ultraviolet radiation to prevent or reduce the curing effectin ultraviolet cured coatings. Thus, product A produces sodium, aluminumand silicon dioxide without significant free silica with its resultingenvironmental disadvantages. This summary defines the generalcharacteristics of product A, which mineral powder is a first inventiveaspect. Other features of product A have been previously described andmay or may not be described again. Product A has been used in producingvarious products such as coatings, sealants, adhesives, inks, togetherwith being useable in the manufacture of such products as glass, ceramicand glaze, plastics, and rubber components. Certain of theseapplications of the unique, novel product A have been developed and arehereinafter described.

Aqueous UV Cured Coating

The fine grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder constituting productA was mixed into a water based UV cured formulation based upon BayhydrolUV. Nepheline syenite powder with a grain size of less than 6 micronswas loaded into the clear coating at different percentages to producesamples with 6% by weight, 12% by weight, 18% by weight and 24% byweight. To produce these samples, 100 parts Bayhydrol UV is mixed with1.5 parts Irgacure 500 as a curing agent and mixed for twenty minutes.Thereafter, one part of Acrysol RM 825 is added to the clear coating andmixed well so product A can be sifted into the mixture as the mixture isbeing stirred. The first sample has 6% by weight of clear solids, thesecond sample has 12% by weight of clear solids, the third sample has18% by weight of clear solids and the fourth sample has 24% by weight ofclear solids. Thus, loading of 6-24% is represented by the four samples.The composition containing clear UV cured coating receives nephelinesyenite powder with a grain size of less than 6 microns. Thiscomposition is mixed for 50 minutes using a hock blade operated at highspeed of approximately 2200 rpm. The elevated grind of this compositionforming the four samples is let down with about 25 parts of water and asmall amount of BYK 346. The samples are each mixed for ten minutes atapproximately 800 rpm and filtered through a 150 mesh screen. Themixture is slightly basic with a pH in the general range of 7.2 to 7.5.The viscosity of the four coating samples is in the range of 300 to 400cps at 100 rpm. The viscosity and pH are the result of mixing thedistinct percentages of product A with the water based UV cured coating.Each of the four samples was evaluated for gloss and clarity by beingfreshly stirred for a minimum of ten minutes. The sample was thenapplied to a Leneta chart, Form 2A with a 30 RDS rod. Each sample wasallowed to dry at atmosphere condition for ten minutes followed by forcedrying at 49° C. for ten minutes. The samples were then exposed to threepasses through an American Ultraviolet UV reactor equipped with aminimum pressure mercury lamp housed in an elliptical reflector. Thelamp wattage was set at 300 WPI and the belt speed was approximately 25FPM. The cure energy per pass was measured at 330 mj/cm² and 0.674W/cm²UVA. 25, 60 and 85 degrees was determined over the black portion ofthe chart with a BYK Gardner Tn-Gloss instrument. This represents adegree gloss. Clarity was determined over the black portion of the chartutilizing a BYK Gardner Color Guide with D65/10 lighting and geometry.Clarity is measured at Delta L relative to the black chart as standard.This is the procedure for measuring gloss and LAB clarity. To determinepencil hardness, the standard procedure was used. Again, each sample wasfreshly stirred for a minimum of 10 minutes and the samples were appliedto plate glass with a 30 RDS rod. Each sample was allowed to air dry atan atmospheric condition for ten minutes, followed by force drying at49° C. for ten minutes. The same curing process was used again for thesesamples. The surface MAR/scratch and gouge pencil hardness weredetermined after ASTM D3363. The pencil hardness units for the fourspecimens using the novel fine grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powderwas measured. See data in FIG. 9. These results were compared to thepencil hardness units for samples processed in the same manner, butusing grain sizes greater than 10 microns and also greater than 15microns. It was found that only samples having nepheline syenite powderwith a maximum grain size of 6 microns resulted in uniform increase inhardness units with concentration. Indeed, when the grain size wasgreater than 10 microns in other comparative samples produced in thesame procedure and tested in the same manner, there was erratic andunpredictable behavior as sown in FIG. 26. Such behavior drasticallylimits the amount of nepheline syenite powder which can be incorporatedinto the ultraviolet curable coating. Only the use of ultra fineparticles of less than 10 microns, indeed, less than about 6 microns hasa uniform increase in hardness units with loading so that greaterloading can be accomplished to enhance the operation of the coating anddrastically reduce its cost.

For the purpose of determining optical clarity, the four specimensutilizing product A were freshly stirred for a minimum of 10 minutes andrefiltered through 50 mesh silk. The samples were then applied to acleaned 1×3 microscope slide with a 30 RDS rod. The samples were driedand cured with ultraviolet energy as previously described. Opticalclarity was determined microscopically by an optical density technique.Reduction in optical clarity is determined by the percentage reductionin the gray scale value (or increase in white value) of a black standardat 100×. The result indicates that samples having different loadings ofproduct A had a drastically reduced effect on optical clarity. See datain FIG. 10. Test samples having greater grain size nepheline syenitepowder had substantial effect after the grain size exceeded a maximumsize of 15 microns. The four specimens having loadings in the range of6-24% by weight of clear solids had little effect on optical clarity,until 25% loading was used. This loading reduced slightly the opticalclarity. On the other end, comparative specimens having a grain sizesubstantially greater than 15 microns showed a drastic effect on clarityat as little as 15% loading. The same slides used for optical clarityevaluation were used for demonstrating the haze by ASTM D 1003-61. Thehaze of the films for the four samples having different loading ofproduct A were compared with samples having the same loadings ofnepheline syenite with a maximum grain size of 15 microns and greater.See data in FIG. 11. The haze was characterized by using a Cary 100spectrophotometer equipped with a 73 mm diameter diffuse reflectanceintegrating sphere. A blank slide was used when obtaining the base lineand scatter of the instrument. This test indicates that the productshaving nepheline syenite with a grain size of less than 6 microns hasdrastically less effect on the haze than nepheline syenite powder with agrain size substantially greater than 15 microns. See bar 330 in FIG.11.

All of these tests indicate the substantial improvement of usingnepheline syenite powder in an ultraviolet cured coating over nephelinesyenite powder having greater grain size. These comparisons with largerparticle size for nepheline syenite powder establishes the advantageousnature of drastically reducing the grain size for the powder, whichreduced grain size not only results in these enhanced properties for thecoating, but also drastically reduces the wear on the process equipmenthandling the coating, since the Einlehner Abrasive Value of the novelnepheline syenite powder is about 50. If the particle size is allowed toincrease to about 10 microns, which is still less than the grain size ofproduct B, there is still enhanced characteristics for the UV curedcoating and the Einlehner Abrasive Value is less than 100. Thedrastically improved properties of UV cured coatings utilizing anepheline syenite powder having a grain size less than 6 microns hasbeen established by the four samples and their comparison with nephelinesyenite powder having greater grain sizes. As a further advantage ofusing the finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder, the pendulumhardness characteristics of the novel nepheline syenite powder wascompared to such hardness of a product using a larger grain nephelinesyenite powder. This property was determined using four samples withdifferent loadings as previously described. The samples were mixed forat least 10 minutes at approximately 500 rpm and then drawn downrandomly on 4×4 glass parts. The samples were also drawn down on metaltest panels. All the drawn down samples were allowed to air flash atatmospheric conditions for approximately ten minutes and were forceddried at 49° C. for ten minutes. Then the coatings were cured. Pendulumhardness was then measured in accordance with standard techniques. Itwas established that the pendulum hardness for a coating using the ultrafine particles of product A was superior to the test samples utilizinglarger particle sizes. Thus, the merits of the novel nepheline syenitepowder has been well documented by many physical advantages overparticle sizes of 15 microns and higher and other commercial fillers.

The four samples with the various loadings were then restirred for tenminutes and adjusted to 25% vehicle solids for spray application. Thisspray was used to develop test panels as follows:

-   -   Cherry veneer, sand 180 garnet, 220 garnet, blow    -   Spray B24P410A toner, dry    -   Spray B23P70 washcoat 1-4 butyl acetate, dry    -   Sand 320, wipe    -   Spray and wipe clean B23P54A wiping stain, dry    -   Lightly hi-lite, 00 steel wool, blow    -   Spray acid cure sealer, two coats, wet on dry and final cure    -   Sand, 240 stearated    -   Wipe and blow panels    -   Spray stirred topcoats (25 psi, air siphon gun)    -   Dry 10 min at 41 C, 14% RH. 100 L/min air movement    -   Dry 10 min at 49 C    -   Cure 3 passes, UV unit equipped with medium pressure mercury        lamp, at 300 WPI, elliptical reflector, approx. 361 mj/cm2, 686        w/cm2 per pass

Panels developed by the procedure outlined above using the four sampleswith the different amount of loading were then rated for clarity (Seedata in FIG. 10) and compared with panels utilizing tests samplesincluding product B and a nepheline syenite powder with substantiallygreater grain size. Nepheline syenite powder tended to hide sandscratches; however, samples having no nepheline syenite had the bestclarity. Samples having product A with 6% loading were about the sameclarity as clear. In all instances, nepheline syenite powder having theultra fine particles of less than 6 microns had substantially betterclarity at the various loadings. Clarity for a given loading of productA was drastically better than clarity for nepheline syenite powder witha substantially greater grain size (see FIG. 10). It was found thatnepheline syenite powder having a grain size of about 6 microns wassubstantially more clear than nepheline syenite powder having a grainsize higher than 15 microns. In conclusion, it was indicated that theminerals evaluated for clarity utilizing the developed panelsillustrated that nepheline syenite powder with a grain size less than 6microns was the best, by far, with regard to optical clarity. Asindicated before, a coating with product A has the least hazedevelopment, less resettling and a more uniform increase in the hardnesswith mineral loading. The clarity did decrease with mineral loading (Seedata in FIG. 10); however, a coating utilizing product A with a loadingof between 12% and 18% by weight exhibited little if any decrease in thefinish clarity. With grain size greater than 15-20 microns, it was quiteproblematic whether the optical clarity of the test samples wasacceptable even at low loading. In conclusion, as the grain size of thepowder increases over 15 microns, the nepheline syenite in the UV curedcoating is questionable merely from a clarity standpoint. Thus, toobtain the advantages associated with the use of fine grain nephelinesyenite powder without affecting clarity and having substantial loadingfor cost reduction, it is necessary to use product A as opposed to othernepheline syenite powders or other fillers as shown by the data in FIGS.8, 11, 12 and 13.

By using the novel nepheline syenite powder in a water based UV curedformulation, it has been found that the novel powder can be loadedheavily into the coating without substantial effect on optical clarity.Thus, this type nepheline syenite powder having the best optical clarityalso has the least haze development and least settlement due to itsultra fine grain size. Furthermore, there is a uniform increase in thehardness as it relates to the mineral loading in the coating. See datain graph of FIG. 9. Collected data indicates that between 12 and 18%product A in a coating, such as in an UV cured coating, is optimum. Atthis loading, the particles do not decrease clarity, but do accomplishthe reduced cost and other enhanced characteristics of the ultra finenepheline syenite powder. Loading between 10 and 18% produces a clearfinish for a coating, such as UV top coating based upon Bayhydrol. Withgrain sizes greater than about 10 microns, the clarity is decreasedrapidly with loading. Consequently, larger particle nepheline syenitepowder can not be loaded heavily to get the benefits of low cost.Furthermore, higher grain material has a greater Einlehner AbrasiveValue. The EAV is drastically over 100 for existing nepheline syenitepowders so equipment processing the coating has a drastically reducedoperational life and, thus, increase capital cost. When a coating with18% product A is used there is less than 5% increase in haze and a 60°gloss decrease of only about 20 points. The hardness determination showsthat this coating with an 18% loading results in similar hardness to aloading as high as 24%. Higher loadings do not drastically increase thehardness. Hardness is a linear property of loading. Smaller particlesize gives erratic hardness and is, thus, less acceptable. All of theseobservations were made when testing four samples utilizing the differentloading as previously described.

As indicated, nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than6 microns produces the best optical clarity, the least haze development,least settling and the most uniform hardness development for nephelinesyenite minerals used in aqueous UV coatings. As a result, it wasconcluded that utilizing 12-18% nepheline syenite having a grain size ofless than 6% may be used with only a slight decrease in finishedclarity. Thus, the fine grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder hasdrastically enhanced physical characteristics over coatings utilizinglarger grain size nepheline syenite powder. There is no area where useof nepheline syenite powder with a controlled grain size of less than 6%creates an adverse result over nepheline syenite powder in general.Consequently, the new powder has enhanced characteristics over existingnepheline syenite powder and no detrimental physical effect. Theseevaluations for aqueous UV cured coating have been shown to apply to allclear, UV cured, powdered and other wood coatings.

Other Wood Coatings

In the section above, product A was used to make certain samples of anaqueous UV cured formulation or compound based upon Bayhydrol UV. Thesesamples were evaluated for clarity and performance properties as theyrelated to other nepheline syenite powder used for the same coatings.This detailed presentation establishes that nepheline syenite powderwith a grain size of less than 6 microns provided the best clarity inthe coating chemistry with suggested loading levels approaching 18%. Thelarger grain nepheline syenite powder was unacceptable at levels greaterthan about 12% loading. Furthermore, with a maximum grain size of 6microns, there was a drastic decrease in the resulting abrasivecharacteristics of the coating. With the novel powder, the abrasionreduction is essentially maximized at a low loading. See data in FIGS.27 and 28. Thus, a coating using product A could be loaded to a higheramount thereby reducing the cost of the coating, without affectingclarity or abrasion resistance. The resultant drastic reduction in thewear of equipment processing and using the coating in the coatingindustry and excellent settling property were combined with lower cost.At the same time, vastly enhanced physical properties of product A wererealized. To evaluate the advantages of a coating utilizing product Aanother analytical procedure was implemented. Seven different woodcoating formulations including three solvent based coatings, three waterbased coatings, and one 100% solids UV coatings were formulated andtested for clarity, gloss and viscosity. The mineral loading was basedupon the weight percent mineral on polymer or clear solids.

The three solvent based coatings were nitrocellulose lacquer, acryliclacquer and acid cured varnish. Each of these coatings was produced with12% loading of product A and 12% loading of product B for comparison.The samples of nitrocellulose lacquer, acrylic lacquer and acid curedvarnish were then evaluated for gloss and clarity by applying thenitrocellulose and acrylic lacquers to a Leneta chart Form 7B with a 30RDS rod. These samples were air flashed and then force dried at 49° C.The coating charts were allowed to set over night before they wereevaluated. The acid cured varnish sample was applied to a Form 7B with a15 RDS rod immediately after they were catalyzed. The samples were airflashed for 15 minutes and then force dried at 60° C. for 15 minutes.The coated charts for this third coating were also allowed to setovernight before they were evaluated. These samples were evaluated forgloss and LAB clarity. The samples of nitrocellulose lacquer and acryliclacquer were also evaluated for optical clarity and haze after beingprocessed by the procedure set forth in the previous section. Thecoatings were applied to a 1×3 inch microscope slide with theappropriate rod. Each slide used the same cure procedure as set forthabove for these two coatings. Optical clarity was determinedmicroscopically by an optical density technique. Reduction in opticalclarity was determined as the percentage reduction in the gray scalevalue (or increase in white value) of a black standard at 100×. Haze wasdetermined by ASTM D1003-61. The haze of the films was measured using aCary 100 Cone. The clarity results of this evaluation showed that bothproduct A and product B resulted in decreased clarity and gloss relativeto non-mineral modified coatings. However, product A showed drasticallyimproved clarity and less gloss reduction than product B for these threecoatings. An acid cured varnish coating exhibited similar clarity andgloss reduction characteristics with product A coatings being superiorto product B coatings.

The use of products A and B for the three aqueous coatings involvedproducing samples by developing a resin-free pigment paste consisting ofproduct A and/or product B and a dispersant. After developing theresin-free pigment paste including product A and product B, these pasteswere used for modifying the three different aqueous coating samples. Thefirst coating in this group of samples was aqueous lacquer, which wasbased upon Rhoplex CL-204. This aqueous lacquer based upon an acrylicpolymer was loaded with the nepheline syenite powder combined withDisperbyk 190 to produce the aforementioned resin-free pigment paste.The percentage of nepheline syenite powder was adjusted to a 12% loadingto produce the final aqueous lacquer. Thus, the aqueous lacquer sampleis formulated to have 12% nepheline syenite based on polymer solids ofthe coating. The aqueous lacquer samples were applied to a Form 7B witha 15 RDSD rod. The samples were flashed for 30 minutes and then forcedried for 30 minutes at 49° C. Again, the coated charts were allowed toset overnight before they were evaluated. The second aqueous coating wasa clear aqueous 2K acrylic formulation based upon Roshield 3257 andBayhydur 302. The same resin-free pigment paste containing nephelinesyenite powder as described before was added to the aqueous 2K acrylicformulation along with cross linking. The comparative 2K aqueous clearacrylic urethane formulation was also modified by Disperbyk 190 to matchthe level brought in by the pigment paste in the respective formulationsfor comparative purposes. Thus, a sample using product A, a sample usingproduct B and a sample using a test clear coating were formulated foranalyzing this second aqueous wood coating.

The third aqueous coating used to evaluate the properties of product Awas second 2K aqueous coating, i.e. 2K PUD urethane coating. The 2K PUDformulation was based upon Alberdingk U915 and Bayhydur VP LS 2336.These samples of this third aqueous coating involved the use of the sameresin-free pigment paste applied to the aqueous 2K PUD formulation alongwith cross linking. The clear 2K aqueous PUD urethane formulation wasalso modified by Disperbyk 190 to match the level brought in by thepigment paste for comparative purposes. The three aqueous coatings ofthe samples described in this section were aqueous lacquer, aqueous 2Kacrylic urethane, and aqueous 2K PUD urethane. All of these aqueouscoatings were modified by including the resin-free paste formed, asindicated, with nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of lessthan 6 microns. For comparison, samples were used with clear coatingsand coatings using the same resin-free paste with larger nephelinesyenite powder. The two 2K samples were applied to a Form 7B with a 15RDS rod. They were immediately applied after cross linking. They wereair flashed for 30 minutes and then force dried 30 minutes at 39° C.They were also allowed to set for seven days before any measurementswere made. These three coatings, the aqueous lacquer and the two 2Kcoatings, all used a paste containing nepheline syenite powder with agrain size of less than 6 microns. The samples resulted in the samebeneficial clarity, gloss and haze characteristics as the three samplesof solvent based coatings.

The third type aqueous coating using finer grain nepheline syenitepowder and revealing improved clarity, gloss and viscosity was a 100%solid UV coating. This coating started with a standard 100% solids clearUV formulation including Laromer, Ebecryl, Sartomer, Irgacure and smallamounts of other constituents. This standard clear UV coating was mixedwith 12% by weight of product A and product B to produce samples foranalysis. The 100% solids UV samples were applied to a Leneta Form N2Awith a 5 RDS rod. The samples were then exposed to one pass through anAmerican Ultraviolet UV reactor equipped with a medium pressure mercurylamp housed in an elliptical reactor. Coatings were cured with one passthrough the unit at 13 FPM with a lamp set at 300 WPI. The measuredcured energy was 0.666 J/cm2 and 0.724 W/cm2. The samples were allowedto set overnight before they were evaluated. Determination was made for20, 60 and 85 gloss over the black portion of the chart with a BYKGardner Tri-Gloss Reflectometer. LAB clarity was also determined overthe black portion of the chart using a BYK Gardner Color Guide with65/10 lighting and geometry. The clarity was measured by a standardprocedure. These samples showed a distinctly greater clarity, glosscontrol and reduced haze for use of nepheline syenite powder with agrain size less than 6 microns.

The seven coatings (three solvent based, three water based and one 100%sold UV) were formulated and measured as reported herein. This processestablished the distinct and significant advantage of using a nephelinesyenite powder having a particle size less than 6 microns. When usingthis nepheline syenite powder to drastically reduce the wear onprocessing equipment, it has been established that it is also farsuperior to use an ultra fine nepheline syenite powder having a largergrain size. Clarity is less affected for increased loading. So the costcan be reduced without sacrificing clarity or increasing haze. Samplesusing nepheline syenite powder in acid cured varnish and in a 100%solids UV formulation were less affected by the presence of a nephelinesyenite powder. In the other five coatings formulated and analyzed asreported in this section, neither of the two ultra fine nephelinepowders caused a rapid and dramatic gloss reduction compared to clearformulations. However, product A produces higher 60° gloss than productB when incorporated in a cellulose lacquer system, an acrylic coating,and a 2K PUD urethane system. The acid cure varnish sample produced thebest clarity when it used product A as its filler. The next best coatingsystem benefitting in this particular property by use of product A wasthe 100% solid UV coating system. In all the other coating samples theinsertion of 12% product A reduces clarity when compared to thenon-nepheline syenite modified sample as measured by delta L. In the100% solid UV systems and in the aqueous lacquer, product A producessmaller delta L values to give more clear films than nepheline syenitepowder having larger grain sizes. All the samples tested indicated thatnepheline syenite powder with a maximum grain size of 6 microns didmodify the visual clarity of the products, but these products weresubstantially clearer than coating samples using larger grain sizedpowder. This is a distinct advantage justifying use of product A;however, product B also was beneficial in those coatings which,heretofore never used any type of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.The overall conclusion is that the addition of ultra fine nephelinesyenite to the formulations resulted in only a slight reduction in filmclarity relative to the non-modified samples. However, though bothproduct A and product B did not adversely affect clarity and haze untilloading was considered. Higher loading of product A results insubstantially more clear film than use of product B with the sameloading. Thus, product A can be loaded more with the reduction of costswithout the same amount of reduction in clarity associated with largerparticle sizes.

The coating system least impacted by adding nepheline syenite powder wasthe acid cured varnish. The 100% solid UV coating is the next coatingwith the least impact by incorporating nepheline syenite powder. All theother coating systems evaluated and reported in this section didexperience some decreased optical clarity, but product A was superior toproduct B. As to haze, the product A was drastically less haze thanproduced by the addition of the same amount of product B. As toviscosity, the introduction of either product A or product B results inslightly lower viscosity of the formulation. Introduction of nephelinesyenite powder into the 100% solids UV formulation results in someincrease in viscosity. Product A shows some slight thixotrophicbehavior.

The nepheline syenite powder was added to the solvent based coatings byfirst making a concentrate in the form of pigment paste or dispersionfrom the novel nepheline syenite powder. The paste was added to thesolvent based coating. This was a satisfactory procedure for introducingnepheline syenite powder into solvent based coatings. The use ofnepheline syenite powder in solvent based coatings is new, whether novelproduct A or existing product B. The use of resin-free pigment paste wasemployed for the aqueous based coatings. The use of any ultra finenepheline syenite powder for such coatings is novel. As to the 100%solids UV coating, the nepheline syenite powder was added by directmixing into the coating formulation. In these seven coatings analyzed inthe process described in this section, it was new to use any type ultrafine nepheline syenite powder whether it be product A or product B.Consequently, the use of fine grain nepheline syenite powder in manyinstances is novel for specific coatings whereas the preferred nephelinesyenite powder produces not only a novel coating, but also an improvednovel coating. This analysis showed the advantage of using ultra finenepheline syenite powder in these coatings and that, in most if not allinstances, product A was more beneficial than product B.

Diverse Uses of Ultra Fine Nepheline Syenite Powder

After developing the novel use of ultra fine nepheline syenite powderfor several wood coatings and other coatings, several other applicationsof ultra fine nepheline syenite powder have been discovered. These manynew applications have been extremely successful and are commerciallyviable as new commercial products. These new products were developedafter creation of the novel nepheline syenite powder with a grain sizeof less than 6 microns to drastically reduce wear on handling equipmentand prevent rapid powder settlement. When the tremendous andunanticipated benefits of finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite werediscovered, these benefits motivated a vast area of research anddevelopment. The fruit of this endeavor was creation of these severalnew products. Indeed, this powder motivated project identified anddeveloped new products that never used ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder or, in some instances, never used nepheline syenite at all.Novelty in these products is not limited to the novel finer grainnepheline syenite powder, but also includes use of any ultra finenepheline syenite powder.

The newly developed products using ultra fine nepheline syenite powderwith loading of 3-20% by weight are tabulated and explained in Table I.This table identifies the new product using ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder and the particulate material replaced by the nepheline syenitepowder. In situations where the new product has never used an ultra finenepheline syenite powder, the novelty involves the use of either productA or product B. This fact is listed in the last column of Table I. Ininstances where the novelty of a given product is the use of the novelnepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than 6 microns,only product A is listed in the last column of the table. All theseproducts have been formulated and found to provide at least the benefitsidentified in the third column of Table I. The listed benefits for eachnew product using an ultra fine nepheline syenite powder in general orfine grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder in particular are givenin the fourth column of Table I. The benefits are tabulated by numbersand identified at the end of Table I.

TABLE I Nepheline Syenite Replacement Property NS Use For Benefit*Reason for Benefit Product** Clear liquid wood Resin 1, 2, 3, 9, 1 -reduced unit cost; 2, 3 - A and B coatings (including 15, 16 mineralhardness; 9 - nepheline air, bake, moisture, syenite imparts UVstability, and UV cured, 15 - increases formula volume solvent andsolids, 16 - non-UV absorber aqueous, low VOC, 100% solids) Clear liquidwood Conventional 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 2, 3 - mineral hardness; 4, 5 - A and Bcoatings (including mineral fillers 9, 10, 15, refractive index; 8 -particle air, bake, moisture, (excluding 16, 17 size/Stoke's Law; 9 -nepheline and UV cured, nepheline syenite imparts UV stability; solventand syenite) 10 - low oil absorption, 15 - aqueous, low VOC, increasesformula volume 100% solids) solids, 16 - non-UV absorber, 17 - selfdispersing due to surface chemistry Clear liquid wood Standard 2, 3, 4,6, 8 2, 3 - uniform distribution of A and B coatings (including(non-ultra hard particles; 4, 6, 8 - particle air, bake, moisture, fine)size and UV cured, nepheline solvent and syenite aqueous, low VOC, 100%solids) Clear liquid wood Nano mineral 1, 9, 10, 11, 1 - reduced unitcost; 9 - A and B coatings (including fillers 15, 16, 17 nephelinesyenite imparts UV air, bake, moisture, stability; 10 - low oilabsorption; and UV cured, 11 - favorable particle surface solvent andchemistry, 15 - increases aqueous, low VOC, formula volume solids, 16 -100% solids) non-UV absorber, 17 - self dispersing due to surfacechemistry Clear liquid coatings Same as all Same as all Same as allabove A and B for flexible above above substrates (paper, leather,overprint varnishes, etc.) Clear liquid coatings Same as Same as Same asabove; 18 - buffering A and B for other rigid above above plus due tohigh pH. substrates (metal 18 for and coil, laminates, metallic etc.)coatings Opaque liquid Same as Same as Same as above; 19 - optimized Acoatings above above plus pigment spacing. (architectural trade 19 whensales, industrial and used in OEM coatings) combination with othermineral fillers. Thin (<10 micron) Same as all Same as all Same as allabove; 13 - particle A coatings above above plus size 13 (except fornano fillers) Nail Polish Same as Same as Same as above A and B aboveabove Inks Resin 1, 2, 3 1 - reduced unit cost; 2, 3 - A mineralhardness Powder Coatings Resin 1, 2, 3, 9 1 - reduced unit cost; 2, 3 -A mineral hardness; 9 - nepheline syenite imparts UV stability PowderCoatings Conventional 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 2, 3 - mineral hardness; 4, 5 - Afillers (e.g. 9, 12 refractive index; 8 - particle CaCO3, size/Stoke'sLaw; 9 - nepheline barite) syenite imparts UV stability; 12 - lowerfiller bulk density Powder Coatings Standard 2, 3, 4, 6 2, 3 - uniformdistribution of A (non-ultra hard particles; 4,6 - particle fine) sizenepheline syenite Powder Coatings Nano mineral 1, 9, 10, 11 1 - reducedunit cost; 9 - A fillers nepheline syenite imparts UV stability; 10 -low oil absorption; 11 - favorable particle surface chemistry CeramicBodies and Conventional 5, 7, 20 5 - refractive index; 7 - A Glazesminerals aluminum source; 20 - lower (feldspar, melt T and lack ofsilica silica, kaolin) Ceramic Bodies and Standard 7 Higher surface areaA Glazes (non-ultra fine) nepheline syenite Glass Conventional 5, 7 5 -Refractive index; 7 - A and B minerals aluminum source (feldspar,silica) Glass Standard 7 Higher surface area A and B (non-ultra fine)nepheline syenite Metallurgical Slags Conventional 7 Aluminum source Aand B minerals (feldspar, silica) Metallurgical Slags Standard 7 Highersurface area A and B (non-ultra fine) nepheline syenite RefractoryFiller Standard 3 Uniform distribution of hard A and B (non-ultraparticles fine) nepheline syenite Plastics and rubber Resin 1 1 -reduced unit cost; 2, 3 - A fillers (depending mineral hardness; 9 -nepheline on resin); 2, syenite imparts UV stability; 3, 9, 14 14 -resin dilution Plastics and rubber Conventional 2, 3, 4, 9, 13 2, 3 -mineral hardness; 4 - A fillers fillers refractive index; 9 - nephelinesyenite imparts UV stability; 13 - particle size Plastics and rubberStandard 2, 3, 4, 6, 13 2, 3 - uniform distribution of A fillers(non-ultrafine) hard particles; 4, 6, 13 - particle nepheline sizesyenite Plastics and rubber Nano fillers 1, 9, 11 1 - reduced unit cost;9 - A fillers nepheline syenite imparts UV stability; 11 - favorableparticle surface chemistry Color Concentrates Pigment 1 1 - reduced unitcost A Color Concentrates Conventional 5 5 - refractive index A fillersPigment Pastes Pigment 1 1 - reduced unit cost A and B Pigment PastesConventional 5 5 - refractive index A and B fillers *PropertyBenefits: 1. Reduced Cost 2. Improved Durability: Scratch/Scrub/AbrasionResistance 3. Improved Hardness and Block Resistance (coatings);Improved mechanical properties (plastics and rubber, refractory filler)4. Clarity/Haze/Gloss 5. Low Tint Strength 6. Reduced Process EquipmentWear 7. Aluminum Source/Reduces Melting Point of Other Minerals -Process Economics 8. Reduced Settling 9. Improved Tint Retention and UVStability 10. Low Resin Demand 11. Ease of Formulation 12. EconomicalCoating Coverage 13. Reduced Surface Defects 14. Flame Retardancy 15.Reduced VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) 16. Improved Curing Efficiency(cure time and thickness) 17. Lower Formulation Viscosity 18. Reducedsubstrate corrosion 19. Enhanced pigment efficiency/opacity 20.Controlled and consistent thermal expansion properties.

Table I discloses a tremendous advancement in the art or industry ofusing processed material minerals. This technical advancement created anew group of goods and had its birth in unlikely development of ultrafine nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than 6microns. When this new and novel powder was developed to reduceequipment wear and reduce settlement by dramatically reducing the grainsize to a level heretofore believed unobtainable, especially at a costallowing commercial use, it was discovered after much research that thisnew powder presented a technical difference in kind. The new powder hadunforeseen advantages when used in many coatings and in other bulkcompounds. Consequently, using this unique nepheline syenite powder,many heretofore unimaginable uses of nepheline syenite powder have beeninvented. These novel products use ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.It has been determined and discovered that some of these products havenovelty based merely upon the fact that they use finer grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder. i.e. powder with a grain size of less thanabout 6-10 microns. Nepheline syenite powder as a filler or additive washeretofore unknown, then the novelty is use of any ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder, i.e. a grain size less than 15 microns. Consequently,the products disclosed in Table I are novel because (a) they use ultrafine nepheline syenite powder or (b) they are uniquely enhanced by useof the novel finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenite powder.

To determine the advantages and characteristics of the various productsas enumerated in Table I, the following test methods and typical valueswere used.

-   -   1. Material Unit Cost and Concentration Calculations    -   2. Steel wool double rubs, measure change in 60 deg., gloss,        results range from no change to 80 units change (Note:        improvements noted even at low, e.g. less than 3%,        concentrations.)    -   3. Pencil gouge hardness (ASTM D3363), results from 6 to 12        “pencil hardness units”, data available, block resistance        determined by static COF measurements, results from 0.2 to 1.5        kgf; for plastics and rubber, evaluations of tensile, tear and        impact properties.    -   4. Haze, measured in percent, ASTM D-1003-61, results from 0 to        100%, data available; 60 degree gloss measured with BYK Gardner        Tri-Gloss instrument, results from 20 to 100.    -   5. Tint strength determined by change in color values (L, a, b).    -   6. Indication of equipment wear given by Einlehner Abrasion        Tester AT-1000, results from 0 to 550 depending on mineral        hardness and top size. Reduced flux/sintering/melting        temperature.    -   8. Settling determined by visual inspection of coatings        formulations, ASTM D869.    -   9. Tint Retention and UV stability determined by outdoor (e.g.        Florida, ASTM D1006) and accelerated (e.g. QUV, ASTM D4587)        exposures, followed by visual inspection.    -   10. Indication of resin demand provided by oil absorption method        ASTM D281, results from 10 to 130.    -   11. Ease of formulation determined qualitatively using such        factors as the mixing intensity and the need for dispersing        additives to provide a uniform coatings system.    -   12. Weight of powder required to cover a given surface area at a        given coatings thickness.    -   13. Visual inspection.    -   14. Volume solids calculations.    -   15. Standard VOC calculations.    -   16. Absorbance spectra in UV range (300-400 nm wavelength) of        coatings mounted on UV-transparent fused silica discs.    -   17. Krebs Stormer viscosity (ASTM D562), Brookfield viscosity        (ASTM D2196), and ICI cone and plate (ASTM D4287) viscosity        determinations.    -   18. Salt fog exposures of coated metal panels; measure “creep”        (i.e. widest point on X scribe line where metal is visible)        length.    -   19. Opacity at a given pigment (e.g. TiO2) loading as determined        by contrast ratio.    -   20. Dimensional measurements.

The ink developed and listed in Table I has a loading of as low as 3% ofthe novel finer grain nepheline syenite powder. Thus, its loading wasbetween 3-20% by weight of nepheline syenite powder. Moisture content ofthe powder was drastically less than 0.8% by weight. Indeed, it wasabout 0.4-0.5%. In the preferred embodiment, the ink is selected fromthe class consisting of flexographic ink, overlay varnishes and UV-curedink.

Another recently developed application of the ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder with a grain size of less than about 6 microns is forcast urethane rolls used in apparatus where an ultra smooth and wearresistant outer surface is desirable long life and smooth non-stickoperation. Such rolls are used in printers, copiers and other hightechnology printing or copying equipment. These rolls must have an ultrasmooth outer surface; consequently, it has been found that a filler ofan ultra fine nepheline syenite powder of the type identified as productA was extremely beneficial. Such powder causes a drastic increase incast smoothness so there is no need for further surface smoothing Evenuse of a filler with a grain size as low as 15 microns causes unwantedsurface irregularities. To make the rolls, the ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder is first heated to drive out even a very low amount ofmoisture, in the area of 0.6-0.8% by weight. The moisture content isless than 0.2%. Small amounts of moisture cause blistering or trappedcarbon dioxide in the surface of the urethane castings. By furtherremoving moisture from the ultra fine nepheline syenite powder having avery reduced grain size, the powder is mixed into the urethane inprotected equipment so no moisture can be attracted. Thereafter, theurethane rolls are cast. They have an ultra smooth outer surfacedictated by the finer grain of the nepheline syenite powder having agrain size of less than 6 microns. These polymer castings constituterolls that are another commercial unit that has been invented uponcreation of product A.

In summary, invention of product A has created a vast array of diverseproducts that can be beneficially modified by use of the novel nephelinesyenite powder and/or by use of ultra fine nepheline syenite powder ingeneral.

Features and Some Discovered Benefits of Novel Powder

Nepheline syenite is a naturally occurring, silicon deficient,sodium-potassium alumina silicate. It has less than 0.1% crystalline andsilica. Indeed, substantially no free crystalline silica is detectablein the mineral complex which is ground and then particulated into thenovel powder of the present invention. Fillers or extenders produced bythe nepheline syenite powder of the present invention is a performanceenhancer in a broad range of coatings, adhesives, sealants and inks.Indeed, the new powder is used to provide a new cast roll and is used incomponents such as glass and ceramic parts. Excellent brightness, tintretention, and wheatherability are achieved by use of the novel powderin many exterior systems, such as coatings. Improved color, chemical andscratch resistance also results when the novel nepheline syenite powderis used in coating formulations. The novel nepheline syenite powder iseasily dispersed and settled quite slowly in all conventional resinsystems. The new powder sometimes acts like a colloidal in a viscousmatrix. Its low oil absorption and natural surface wettingcharacteristics permit high loading, with low viscosity, in adhesives,sealants, and aqueous and solvent based coatings. The ultra finenepheline syenite powder with a grain size of less than 6 microns isideally suited for clear, UV and powder coating systems requiring highgloss and optimum clarity based on its unique particle size distributionand light transmission properties. When used for parts such as castroll, glass parts and ceramic parts, the new powder prevents settlingand reduces wear on process equipment.

A variety of different uses and applications of nepheline syenite powderwere investigated. Various formulations comprising the nepheline syenitepowder of the present invention, were prepared. A summary of the widearray of different uses of nepheline syenite and representativecommercially available products known to use ultra fine nephelinesyenite are set forth below in Table II. Improvements and benefits asdescribed herein are attainable by use of the present inventionnepheline syenite powder of the present invention.

TABLE II Loading (wt % dry Nepheline Syenite Use Final Product resin)Clear liquid wood coatings HDROPLUS, HD 3-25% (including air, bake,SYSTEMS moisture, and UV cured, THOMPSON'S WATER solvent and aqueous,SEAL, SAMUEL CABOT, low VOC, 100% solids) RED SPOT, MINWAX, WOOLMAN.Clear liquid coatings for DYNACOAT UV 3-20% flexible substrates (paper,leather, overprint varnishes, etc.) Clear liquid coatings for WEATHERX3-25% other rigid substrates (metal and coil, laminates, etc.) Opaqueliquid coatings BEHR PREMIUM PLUS, 5-35% (architectural trade sales,OLYMPIC, AMERICAN industrial and OEM coatings) TRADITIONS, KILZ,DUTCHBOY, Thin (<10 micron) coatings WEATJERX 3-20% Nail Polish REVLON3-20% Inks ARROWWEB, 3-30% ARROWSTAR Powder Coatings POWDURA, ALESTA,5-25% DUPONT, INTERPON, ENVIROCRON, ROHM AND HAAS POWDER COATINGSCeramic Bodies and Glazes Standard 10-30%  Glass ANDERSON, PPG 5-20%Metallurgical Slags Ferrous Metals at least 5% Refractory FillerStandard 3-25% Plastics and rubber fillers Standard 3-25% ColorConcentrates Standard 10-50%  Pigment Pastes Standard 10-50% Another non-limiting general composition of nepheline syenite is setforth below in weight percent:

SiO₂ 59-62 Al₂O₃ 22-24 Na₂O  9-12 K₂O 4-6 Fe₂O₃ <0.2 CaO <0.5 MgO <0.1

Yet another embodiment of the novel nepheline syenite powder of thepresent invention has the following proposition:

Silican Dioxide 60.20% by weight Aluminum Oxide 23.60% by weight SodiumOxide 10.50% by weight Potassium Oxide 4.80% by weight Calcium Oxide0.35% by weight Iron Oxide 0.08% by weight Magnesium Oxide 0.02% byweight

As set forth in this description, 10-20% of product A used in a coatingcreates a minimal increase in haze. Indeed, the increase is less than 6%and 18% loading of product A results in a gloss decrease of about 20points relative to an unmodified coating. When using a larger grainnepheline syenite powder, there is a dramatic decrease in gloss ascompared with use of a nepheline syenite powder having a grain size ofless than 6 microns. The advantage of using nepheline syenite powderwith a grain size of less than 6 microns is that the pencil hardnessincrease with concentration of the powder is consistent. See datareported in FIG. 26. This is not the case with larger grain sizes fornepheline syenite powder. It has been found that these advantages ofultra fine nepheline syenite powder are enhanced, by use of nephelinesyenite powder having a grain size of less than 6 microns.

A study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the new ultra finenepheline syenite powder in a representative clear wood coatingformulation. This evaluation was in a standard UV cured water basedpolyurethane commonly used as a clear coat over wood cabinetry. Thestudy involved collecting data from coatings using product A and productB. Both powders demonstrated significantly improved block and abrasionresistance and had minimal impact on cross hatch adhesion whileimproving scratch resistance at an optimal loading determined to be 12%.This evaluation for optical clarity gloss hardness and package stabilityconfirmed that there were significant additional advantages for the useof the novel ultra fine nepheline syenite powder. The novel powderoffered the best optical clarity, the least haze development, the leastsettling and a uniform increase in hardness with an increase in loading.The result of this evaluation is the data represented in FIGS. 26, 27and 28. The coating used in this evaluation was an aqueous UV curedformulation based upon Bayhydrol UV VP LS 2317. This is a polyurethaneresin containing an acrylic functional group. The performance of productA and product B in this system as a function of mineral loading between6% powder and 24% powder gave the results shown in the aforesaid threedrawings. Product A had a uniform increase in hardness with increasedloading. This attribute of product A is shown in FIG. 26 wherein thehardness data of product A for different loadings is shown as verticalbars 600, 602, 604 and 606. The increase of hardness represented bythese bars generally has a linear relationship with respect to theloading percentage increases. This relationship is represented by linex. It was found that increases in the loading of the powder for productB resulted in erratic and unpredictable hardness levels, as representedby the data in vertical bars 610, 612, 614 and 616. Consequently, a userof ultra fine grain and nepheline syenite powder can control hardness ofthe coating dependably only by using the novel nepheline syenite powderof the present invention. The rate of hardness increase of product Awith respect to concentration of powder is, indeed, extremelyconsistent. This is a distinct advantage in using ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder for producing a coating having a distinct hardnessspecification. It is also important to determine the abrasion level of acoating after it has been cured and has hardened. Thus, the same coatinghaving various percentages of the novel nepheline syenite powder wereapplied to test panels and allowed to cure or dry. These panels were cutinto strips and evaluated for abrasion according to the percentage ofnepheline syenite powder in the coating. These strips are schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 27. Strip 700 has a clear coating without the novelnepheline syenite powder. This novel powder was added to the coating inloading values of 6%, 12%, 18% and 24% as represented by strips 702,704, 706 and 708, respectively. The coatings on these strips weresubjected to a steel wool double rub under a 1500 gram load overapproximately a 0.5 inch by 2 inch area. The abrasion results weresurprising. They are schematically shown. Rub area 700 a of strip 700had substantial scratches. However, the rub area 702 a of strip 702revealed very minor scratches. Indeed, this same level of scratchresistance was found in rub areas 704 a, 706 a and 708 a of strips 704,706 and 708, respectively. Consequently, the scratch resistance whenusing the novel nepheline syenite powder is drastically improved with aminor amount of powder, apparently less than 6% loading. This abrasionresistance is not appreciably changed by adding greater amounts ofnepheline syenite powder. Thus, a small amount of novel nephelinesyenite powder provides a substantial improvement in abrasionresistance. More powder does not substantially improve this beneficialproperty. These abrasion test results were verified by the data shown inFIG. 28, which discloses the change of gloss for 50 double rubs atdifferent loadings. The data in FIG. 28 reveals a drastic change ingloss for a clear coating as used on strip 700. This change in gloss isrepresented by vertical bar 750. The change in gloss for product B fordifferent concentrations in the coating are represented by bars 752 b,754 b, 756 b and 758 b. These changes are substantially greater than thechange in gloss for product A which is minor and is obtained primarilyby the addition of approximately 6% of powder. The change of gloss datafor product A is illustrated by the vertical bars 752 a, 754 a, 756 aand 758 a.

In summary, the novel nepheline syenite powder of the present inventionhas a consistent uniform change in hardness based upon powderconcentration, as shown in FIG. 26. However, the change in concentrationdoes not drastically affect the change in gloss or the abrasioncharacteristics of the coating as shown in FIGS. 28 and 27,respectively. With these combined features for the novel nephelinesyenite powder, the hardness of the coating can be accurately controlledto a precise specification, without regard to a change in the gloss or achange in abrasion of the coating. This combined synergisticrelationship obtained by the novel nepheline syenite powder is notobtainable in product B. Consequently, tremendous commercial advantageis obtained by use of the novel nepheline syenite powder. Thissynergistic advantage is in addition to the drastic reduction inequipment wear and the drastic decrease in settling rate obtainable onlyby the nepheline syenite powder having a grain size of less than 6microns.

As a result of this study, it was concluded that an 18% loading ofnepheline syenite powder having a particle size of less than 6 micronscan be used in the coating with a minimum increase in haze. The 18%loading of this novel nepheline syenite powder results in a modest glossdecrease of about 20 points relative to an unmodified coating as shownin FIG. 28. Larger grain nepheline syenite powder decreases gloss moredrastically and gives unpredictable hardness. A minor amount of thenovel nepheline syenite powder results in the amount of scratchresistance to be obtained by the powder even at higher loading levels soabrasion resistance and gloss control are not factors in creating theprecise hardness required. Consequently, this study establishes severaladditional advantageous properties of a coating using the novelnepheline syenite powder of the present invention.

In yet another series of investigations, the effect of use andincorporation of products A and B into a water-based polyurethane clearcoating system was studied. Specifically, an aqueous UV curableformulation based upon Bayhydrol UV VP LS 2317, a polyurethane resincontaining acrylic functional groups was prepared. Various samplescontaining loadings of from 0 to 24% of products A and B were thenprepared by incorporating the respective product into the describedsystem. No defoamers or wetting/dispersing agents were used in any ofthe samples. The various sample formulations were then applied ontosubstrates and haze and gloss measurements were then made after dryingand UV curing of the resulting coating. Specifically, coating sampleswere air dried for 10 minutes, followed by forced drying at 49° C. for10 minutes. Samples were then exposed to three passes through anAmerican Ultraviolet UV reactor equipped with a medium pressure mercurylamp house in an elliptical reflector. The lamp wattage was set at 300WPI, and the belt speed at 25 FPM. The cure energy per pass was measuredat 300 mj/cm² and 0.674 W/cm² UVA. Haze of the resulting coatings wascharacterized by ASTM D1003-61 utilizing a Cary 100 spectrophotometerequipped with a 73 mm diameter diffuse reflectance integrating sphere. Ablank slide was used when obtaining the baseline and scatter of theinstrument. Gloss, i.e. a 60 degree gloss, was determined over the blackportion of the chart with a BYK Gardner Tri-Gloss instrument. FIG. 29illustrates the haze percentage measured from samples of the dried andcured polyurethane coating having various concentrations of eitherproduct A, shown by line 800 a, or product B, shown by line 800 b. FIG.30 illustrates the gloss measured from the samples. Measurements ofgloss from samples with varying concentrations of product A are shown byline 810 a. And, measurements of gloss from samples with varyingconcentrations of product B are shown by line 810 b. Referring furtherto FIGS. 29 and 30, it can be seen for example, that 18% product A maybe utilized in this coating with a minimal increase in haze while alsoproviding a significant increase in gloss. Product B additions decreasegloss more dramatically, although the effect of product B additions onhaze is not as significant.

Comparison of Product a with Common Fine Grain Fillers

A study was conducted to evaluate the new finer grain ultra finenepheline syenite powder in aqueous UV formulated coating as comparedwith commercially available fine grain minerals. The commercialmaterials to which the nepheline syenite powders were compared areTreminex 958-700 AST, Sodalite 100-90-1, micron sized alumina (DuraloxDF 1200), nano sized colloidal silica (Highlink OG 502-31) and NanoByk3600. The coating volumes were held constant for comparison. The resultsof the comparison for gloss are represented in FIG. 14. A coatingidentified as the “test” includes large grain nepheline syenite powderwith a grain size above 50-60 microns. Syenite powder with a grain sizeof less than 15 microns is again identified as product B and isdisplayed beside the novel nepheline syenite powder (product A) having agrain size of less than 6 microns. Products with nepheline syenitepowder show a nearly linear relationship in 60° gloss. Product A resultsin the greatest gloss. Thus, the data in FIG. 14 is evidence of anadvantage obtained by using finer grain ultra fine nepheline syenitepowder. The greatest gloss is obtained by the very expensivenano-alumina identified as NanoByk 3000. The distinct advantages ofnepheline syenite powder are obtained without substantial reduction ingloss by adopting and using nepheline syenite powder having a grain sizeof less than 6%. The graphs in FIGS. 15 and 16 show that nephelinesyenite powder and Treminex provides the best delta L clarity and thebest delta b clarity. This data comparison indicates that ultra finenepheline syenite powders significantly improved clarity when comparedto micron sized alumina, nano sized alumina and nano sized colloidalsilica. A smaller delta L value indicates improved clarity. Morenegative delta b values indicate greater blue haze. Data displayed bythe graphs of FIGS. 15 and 16 also reveal that ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder is beneficial in the area of clarity for use in coatings.Other commercial fillers are more expensive and are generally lesssuccessful in maintaining coating clarity. Indeed, the grain size of theultra fine nepheline syenite powder is quite important for blue hazeclarity of the graph in FIG. 16. Product A is demonstrably better thanproduct B in this physical property. All samples show some degree ofimpact on visual clarity; however, product A results in the best visualclarity as compared to the unmodified coating. Although nano sizedalumina results in good visual clarity upon first inspection, underintense lighting situations, the samples show a large amount of bluehaze. This is borne out by the data shown in FIG. 16 and disqualifiedNanoByk 3600 for some quality intense coatings.

The optical clarity as measured by WCRG's AOI methodology is shown inthe graph of FIG. 17. The best optical clarity is given by theunmodified sample, i.e. the “clear” coating sample. This AOI claritylevel is followed closely by the levels obtained with nano size alumina.Duralox filler is only slightly better than use of product A as thecoating filler. The values of the optical clarity determined by thesethree products range from about 93% to about 97% indicating a very goodclarity for all three of these fillers. The chart also shows that as thesize of the nepheline syenite powder increases, the AOI optical claritydecreases. This is an advantage of the use of product A over othernepheline syenite powders because higher loading can obtain the same AOIclarity. This is a tremendous cost saving feature.

All minerals show some scattering and result in some haze formulationrelative to clear, unmodified coating. This observation is disclosed bythe graphs of FIGS. 18 and 19. The disclosed values indicate thatproduct A results in the least scattering and haze development of allthe minerals tested. This is a substantial advantage for nephelinesyenite powder having a grain size less than 6 microns. When the grainsize of the nepheline syenite increases as indicated by the “test”sample, the haze drastically increases. The commercially availablemicron sized alumina results in significant scattering and hazeformation. Thus, ultra fine nepheline syenite powder is a substantialimprovement in the haze characteristics from the commercially availablesmall grain products and from the “test” sample. The nano sizedparticles which are extremely expensive are the closest to theinexpensive nepheline syenite powder of product A.

Turning now to FIG. 20, this graph shows that the pencil hardness andsurface scratch resistance is improved by decreasing the size of theparticles of nepheline syenite powder. In the graph constituting FIG.21, the coating using Sodalite results in the worst gouge hardness.Product A is substantially advantageous in this particular physicalproperty. However, this property is a minor factor or technicalconsideration when balanced against the tremendous merits of using thenovel nepheline syenite powder in coatings.

Scratch resistance results indicate some interesting comparisons, asshown by the data contained in the graph of FIG. 22. The unmodified“clear” coating exhibits the worst scratch resistance. Products A and Bobtain the good results. Sodalite and Treminex created the least scratchresistance for the samples evaluated at 10 cycles. After 25 cycles, asshown in FIG. 23, the data discloses that the unmodified “clear” coatingexhibits a very dramatic decrease in scratch resistance. The “test”coating sample exhibits the least amount of change in scratch resistanceand the overall best scratch resistance of all the several samplesevaluated. The micro-size and nano-size alumina samples show the nextbest scratch resistance results after 25 scratch cycles. After 50scratch cycles, the “test” sample continues to show the best scratchresistance of all the samples as shown by the graph in FIG. 24. The“test” sample is nepheline syenite powder with substantially largergrain size than the ultra fine nepheline syenite powders of product Aand product B. Scratch resistance is merely one of many physicalcharacteristics obtained by adding a filler to a coating. The commonproperties have been evaluated and are illustrated in the graphs ofFIGS. 14-25. Lack of hardness as disclosed in the graph of FIG. 24 isnot a major consideration in the coatings of products of Table I.

The addition of all the minerals, except the nano size alumina, improvesblock resistance of the coating. The data on this particular property isshown in the graph presented in FIG. 25. The best block resistance isobtained by nepheline syenite powder having a large grain size asindicated by the “test” sample. Furthermore, the Sodalite minerals alsoprovide good block resistance. Again this characteristic is not acontrolling factor for fillers discussed in this section and reported inFIGS. 14-25.

FIGS. 14-25 are somewhat exhaustive in reporting on the physical effectof nepheline syenite powder in a specific coating. They are provided toillustrate that the novel product A has an overall advantage over othernepheline syenite powders and clearly over other fine grain fillers whenconsidering all properties in a total technical analysis. The reportedtests were not selected to reveal only properties in which product Aexcels, but were provided to show the standard array of properties toestablish the benefits of the novel nepheline syenite powder. The novelpowder, in the totality of property enhancements is a substantialimprovement in the art of coating fillers. This fact, combined with itsdrastic effect on reducing the wear on manufacturing equipment,establishes the substantial merit of drastically reducing the grain sizeof ultra fine nepheline syenite powder. The novel ultra fine nephelinesyenite powder and novel uses of this powder together with novel uses ofultra fine nepheline syenite powder in general have been disclosed.

The exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to thepreferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations willoccur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detaileddescription. It is intended that the exemplary embodiments be construedas including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they comewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1-93. (canceled)
 94. A product including an ultra fine powder formedfrom particles of naturally occurring oxide mineral with substantiallyno free silica, said product selected from the class consisting of: (a)clear liquid wood coating; (b) clear liquid coating for flexiblesubstrates; (c) clear liquid coating for rigid substrates; (d) nailpolish; (e) glass; (f) metallurgical slag; (g) refractory filler; and,(h) pigment paste.
 95. The product as defined in claim 94 where saidmineral is nepheline syenite.
 96. The product as defined in claim 94wherein said powder is a least about 3% by weight of said product. 97.The product as defined in claim 94 wherein said powder is a least about10% by weight of said product.
 98. A product including a fine grainultra fine powder formed from particles of naturally occurring oxidemineral with substantially no free silica, said product selected fromthe class consisting of: (a) opaque liquid coating; (b) coating with athickness of less than 10 microns; (c) inks; (d) powder coatings; (e)ceramic bodies; (f) glaze; (g) plastic filler; (h) rubber filler; and,(i) concentrate.
 99. The product as defined in claim 98 where saidmineral is nepheline syenite.
 100. The product as defined in claim 98wherein said powder is at least about 10% by weight of said product.101. The product as defined in claim 98 wherein said powder is less thanabout 3% by weight of said product.
 102. A product including fine grainultra fine powder formed from particles of naturally occurring oxidemineral with substantially no free silica, said product selected fromthe class consisting of: (a) clear coating; (b) sealants; (c) paperlaminates; (d) aqueous coating; (e) solvent based coating; (f) UV curedcoating; (g) water based coating with resin free pigment paste; (h)nitrocellulose clear lacquer; (i) acrylic lacquer; (j) clear solventbased acid cured varnish; (k) aqueous lacquer; (I) acrylic urethanecoating; (m) aqueous clear PUD urethane coating; (n) 100% solid clear UVcoating; and, (o) concentrate for adding to a final product.
 103. Theproduct as defined in claim 102 where said mineral is nepheline syenite.104. A product including a matrix and at least 3% by weight of an ultrafine powder additive formed from particles of naturally occurring oxidemineral with substantially no free silica with a particle size to resultin an Einlehner Abrasive Value of at least 100 and a moisture content ofless than 0.8% by weight.
 105. Acrylic lacquer with ultra fine powderhaving a particle size of less than about 15 microns formed fromparticles of naturally occurring oxide mineral with substantially nofree silica and comprising about 6-24% by weight of said lacquer. 106.The acrylic lacquer as defined in claim 105 where said mineral isnepheline syenite.
 107. Clear solvent based acid cured varnish withultra fine powder having a particle size of less than about 15 micronsformed from particles of naturally occurring oxide mineral withsubstantially no free silica and comprising about 6-24% by weight ofsaid varnish.
 108. The clean solvent based acid cured varnish as definedin claim 107 where said mineral is nepheline syenite.
 109. Paperlaminate for simulated furniture, said laminate containing ultra finepowder with a particle size less than about 15 microns formed fromparticles of naturally occurring oxide mineral with substantially nofree silica.
 110. The paper laminate as defined in claim 109 where saidmineral is nepheline syenite.